Zarbon's Rebellion
by FinalFlashX
Summary: AU: I had always survived. For nearly 40 years I had done everything he asked of me so I could work my way up the ranks until I was untouchable. I thought I was safe then, but now it seems that even as his right hand man my life is forfeit even though I had served with unquestionable loyalty. Now, in order to survive, I must eliminate Frieza and become ruler of the universe myself.
1. Chapter 1: Arrival on Namek

**Chapter 1: Arrival on Namek**

_A cool breeze washed over me, picking up the long braid of hair that rested on my shoulder and causing it to be swept up into the turbulence. The sound of the gentle fluttering of my cape in the wind filled my ears as I relished in the gust of refreshing air. As the current died down, the roar of flowing water beneath me grabbed my attention and I slowly opened my eyes to take in my surroundings._

_The blinding light from a large sun forced me to shield my eyes from the harmful rays, but after my eyes adjusted to the light, the unfamiliar setting I found myself thrust into unfolded before me. I found myself floating several hundred feet above the ground in a deep green sky that was dotted with small clouds. Also occupying this bizarre sky were three suns; one that was setting, one that was rising, and one that was at the peak of its arc across the horizon in the high noon position._

_Looking down, I laid my eyes on a giant basin that was being filled with water that was the same greenish color as the sky. Around the basin were patches of blue grass in the otherwise barren terrain that seemed as if it seen rain for many long seasons. As the level of the water rose inside of the basin, my eyes caught sight of a small speck of crimson in the middle of the pool of green liquid. The longer my gaze rested on the small dot, the larger the blood red spot became._

_Tearing my gaze away from the lagoon, my attention was caught by a large mountain that seemed to be racing towards me. Atop the rocky pillar was a strange white structure that was covered with blue translucent windows and it was surrounded by the same blue grass that had surrounded the basin. As the mountain and the outlandish residence atop it approached me, the urge to be closer and go inside of the foreign looking home. _

_My body began to move forward and I felt myself flying towards the mountain. In no time at all my feet touched down in front of the cream colored house and I could see that there was an opening that allowed entrance inside. My legs seemed to have a mind of their own as the distance between me and the doorway decreased with each step. Arriving at the entrance, my eyes darted inside to try and steal a glance of the interior of the building but all I could see was darkness. Turning to enter the doorway, my eyes were met by…_

The jarring sound of a scouter's beeping roused me from my slumber, casting me out of the life-like dream I had been experiencing. Groaning, I opened my eyes and glanced in the direction of the nightstand where my scouter sat. Reaching across my bed, I scooped up the blue scouter into my hand and placed it over my left eye. Pressing a button that stopped the constant buzzing, the voice of one of the bridge officers filled my ears.

"Lord Zarbon," said the officer. "Sorry to disturb you sir but I have a report just came arrived that requires your attention sir."

"You woke me up because of a measly report," I growled into the scouter. "I don't appreciate having my beauty sleep disturbed Captain."

"I understand Lord Zarbon, but the report was labeled as Level 2 priority from Frieza 79."

My anger at the man disappeared after hearing this information, so it seemed some new updates on the monkey prince had finally come in. "I'll be right there," I briskly said before cutting off the transmission. Throwing the covers off of my body, I quickly rolled out of my bed and made my way across the giant room to the man sized mirror that was mounted onto the wall next to four dressers that contained all of my garments. This was my humble quarters aboard Lord Frieza's flag ship and these were perks you gained when you were the right hand man to the most powerful being in the universe.

Of course, none of this would have been possible if not for the amazing attributes that I myself possessed. Smirking as I carefully took out my flawless armor and placed it over my head, careful not to disturb my hair. Yes, after almost 15 years of slowly making my way up the Planet Trade Organization hierarchy and being forced to work with morons I was finally able to achieve my goal of becoming Lord Frieza's second in command. For the last 25 years I've been in charge of running the most powerful empire the universe has ever seen; and even though most of the time I'm forced to deal with simpletons I know I'm where I belong, at the top of the galaxy where everyone can see me and my glory.

After pulling up on the pink sleeves that covered my arms, my hands reached down into the dresser and pulled out my folded and pressed cape. The light blue color that represented my proud heritage seemed to glisten in the dimly lit room as I threw the cape behind me and clasped into its holders on my back. Sitting down in a chair to pull on my combat boots over the dark blue spandex that covered most of my legs, I glanced up into the mirror and caught my own eyes.

Transfixed by those beautiful eyes in the mirror, I slowly stood up and walked closer to the man sized mirror, staring at the reflection inside of it. The reflection's hand reached up and brushed a loose strand of emerald hair out of its face and then smiled at me. My eyes gazed at his and were lost in their golden depths for what seemed like hours, but suddenly those beautiful and elegant eyes turned into _his _eyes.

The trance that had held me was suddenly broken, and I quickly moved away from the mirror and out the door. My body shuddered as my mind tried to physically shake the image of that beast's eyes out of my head. I wandered around unconsciously for several minutes, not caring where my feet took me. It wasn't until I found myself on the bridge of the ship that my mind began to function normally again, my body apparently knowing that the only thing that could distract me was work.

"Lord Zarbon." My eyes were drawn to the voice and they found Captain Namole, the officer who had hailed me earlier approaching me. I barely was able to hold back the sneer that was forming on my face after seeing the man's butchered hair and the disgusting purple spandex he wore underneath his armor. My face somehow though was able to remain impassive though, hiding my disgust for the man, as my relentless stare drilled holes into him as he saluted me and stood at attention. My mouth made an undetectable smirk as I saw Namole gulp and tap his foot nervously as he waited for me to speak. Finally deciding to end the peon's torment, I finally nodded at him releasing him from standing at attention.

"You said you had a report that required my attention," I said as the Captain let his shoulders relax, knowing that the threat of him being punished had passed.

"Yes, straight from Planet Frieza 79," he said as he snapped his fingers and another solider walked over towards us with a file in his hands.

"I wasn't sure when to expect you my Lord," said Namole casually as he took the file from the other man. "When we last spoke you said you were going to be right up, but it's been almost an hour since then."

My eyes drove daggers into the man as he handed me the file. How dare that imbecile question and criticize me! If he wasn't such a high ranking officer and if he hadn't just handed me such vital intelligence I would strike him down where he stood. Deciding to ignore the idiot for now, I opened the file and quickly leafed through it, scanning for the valuable information.

"Has all of this been confirmed?" I asked after finding the particular Intel that I had been searching for.

"Yes, our long range scanners have confirmed that Vegeta's pod is on a direct course for Planet Namek, with Cui's hot on his trail."

"When will they arrive on the planet?"

"Approximately 6 to 7 hours after we land on Planet Namek's surface sir."

Nodding, I closed the file and handed it back to the man. "Do we know what became of the planet Vegeta and that brute of a partner of his where on? I believe I heard the inhabitants of the planet referring to it as Earth in the transmission from the monkeys' scouters."

"Yes, well per your instructions Lord Zarbon, the commander of Frieza 79 scrambled a squad and set them to the coordinates of this Earth, known as Planet XRS17 in our databases, soon after Vegeta arrived at the base. Well the squad just recently arrived at the designated coordinates but all they found was a recently created asteroid field, suggesting that Planet XRS17 had been recently destroyed. The most likely scenario of course being that Vegeta destroyed the planet after suffering severe injuries while battling against the planet's warriors which also resulted in the death of his partner Nappa."

I nodded my head in understanding. "Very well, none of that matters anyway. We have more important matters to attend to."

"Good riddance I say," said Namole. "Anyone that could leave Vegeta in the condition he was in when he arrived on 79 could mean nothing but trouble for us."

Snorting at the man's insight, I quickly retorted, "They would have been no more than a trivial distraction for even Dodoria, much less myself or our elite squadrons." Glancing at one of the monitors several feet to my left, I walked towards the front of the bridge and scanned the monitors of the navigators.

"How soon will we arrive on Planet Namek?" I asked, glancing back over my shoulder towards Captain Namole who had followed me down the walkway.

"We should be landing on the surface within the hour milord," the man answered.

"Excellent," I said as a smirk formed on my face. "Alert Lord Frieza immediately of our approaching landing and have the men ready to leave the ship as soon as we land."

"Yes sir."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"The last of the Nameks have been eliminated Lord Frieza and we've found another Dragon Ball." I turned my head and saw that one of the lackeys held one of the giant orange globes that we had been scrounging the planet for.

"Excellent, bring it here at once," said Lord Frieza from his hoverchair and the frog faced man scrambled over to where we stood and handed the Dragon Ball to Dodoria.

"Keep an eye on that Dodoria," hissed Lord Frieza. "These spheres are worth more than your life and you would be lucky if that was all you lost if you were to misplace one of them."

"Of course Lord Frieza," said the fat pink blob. My cohort continued to speak but I instantly tuned out the man's ass-kissing. My ears had been tormented by that uncouth alien's voice for over two decades now and I had decided that they had been tortured long enough. Besides, there were more important matters to attend to at the moment, like Vegeta's arrival on the planet.

"You seem distracted, is something bothering you Zarbon?" asked Lord Frieza.

Diverting my attention from the blue screen that was across my eye, I looked up at the back of Lord Frieza's head. "Well it seems that pesky monkey Vegeta has finally landed on the planet and is on the move. One of our elite soldiers is following him for now and there so close to each other that it's hard to distinguish between their individual energies. It is most likely that a violent conflict will erupt in a few moments."

"Who is it that's on Vegeta's tail?"

"Cui milord, he happened to be on Planet 79 when the monkey recovered from his injuries and then left in his pod and he followed him here."

"Cui," spluttered Dodoria, salvia flowing from his disgusting mouth as he spoke. "He'll be able to tear that insolent Vegeta to pieces no problem."

My mouth flexed involuntarily as I was barely able to catch the snort that almost tore from my lips. Cui was an idiot and a coward who relied on pure brawn to win his battles, similar to the tub of lard that was my associate. The man had never used his brain to bring him victory and he didn't have a creative bone in his body. Though I was never Vegeta's biggest fan, I had to concede that the monkey was clever and my gut told me that the ape would run circles around the fish-faced warrior if they met in combat.

"Keep an eye on the situation Zarbon. I want to know what our unwanted guest is up too."

"Yes milord." While everyone else began to search for another Namekian village on their scouters, I kept my eyes locked on mine as Cui's power level reached the spot where the saiyan's had stopped moving. For a minute or two nothing happened but then, Vegeta's power level began to increase rapidly. My eyes widen in fear as the monkey's energy climbed higher and higher until his power was so enormous that it overloaded my scouter. Sparking as it tried to process the huge power level, the blue scouter exploded on my face.

I snarled as I brought my hand up and dusted the soot from the explosion off of my face, but even the anger of having my face marred could not distract me from the situation at hand. If the reading the scouter had given me before it malfunctioned was correct, then we could have a serious situation on our hands.

"Zarbon what was that?" questioned Dodoria as he looked over at me after the small explosion.

"This…this can't be right," I stammered. "Right before it gave out, the scouter read Vegeta's power level at 22,000!"

"Humph, you must be joking. There's no way that monkey has a power level that high, yours must be broken."

'Of course it's broken,' I thought as the slime ball raised his hand to check Vegeta's power level himself on his own scouter. 'You just watched it break, imbecile.'

The repulsive man smirked as his scouter searched for the monkey prince's power level, sure that he was about to embarrass me in front of Lord Frieza and prove that he was superior. His idiotic smirk disappeared though when the green screen across his eye flashed, informing him that it had found the power level it had been searching for. His revolting face transformed into one of horror and he let out a gasp as he seemed to be petrified by the number that was displayed on the green scouter.

"The number," I said impatiently as the moron continued to stare at the power level on the screen.

"That's impossible! This stupid thing must be broken!" exclaimed Dodoria. "It's reading at 24,000!"

"24,000." I muttered in disbelief. "That means right now that Vegeta's has a higher power level than both of us." Of course, unlike you leviathan, my power level can reach a much higher level than it currently is. Though I'm not keen on the idea of having to resort to using _him _to defeat Vegeta, I will if the monkey gives me no other choice.

"It cannot be true," seethed the vulgar pink blob. "At best Vegeta's power level is at 18,000! There's no way he could have possibly surpassed me!"

"Actually it's not surprising." My eyebrows rose as I turned to look at Lord Frieza's chair as he continued to speak. "Remember he has been in battle continuously for the past few years, taking mission after mission never taking a break. With his saiyan blood, his power level could have increased substantially."

My ears caught the sound of Lord Frieza chuckling before he added, "It is of little concern though; you'll beat that monkey by joining both of your power levels together."

My body shuddered at the abhorrent thought of having to actually fight side by side with the tasteless ogre. Of course we had fought together before, we had worked together for almost three decades now, but he was such an uncouth fighter and I hated it when fate forced me to place my life in the wart infested hand of my boorish partner.

"But sir," I began to plead but he cut me off before my argument could be presented.

"There is nothing to fear Zarbon," Lord Frieza assured me. "Only 24,000 remember. Compared to me, his power is but a mere grain of sand in a giant desert. Why do you think Vegeta's so desperate to get the Dragon Balls? Because he knows that without them he doesn't stand a chance against me." As he continued to talk, it seemed more and more like my lord was speaking to the monkey prince instead of us as his mind seemed to drift away to some other place.

"You've been plotting to overthrow me for some time; you even went to that Earth without my permission. Now you dare oppose me openly!? I'm afraid your time has run out my little monkey, it's time for you to join the rest of your pathetic race in the afterlife!"

"Lord Frieza, we believe we have found another Namekian village."

My master's trance seemed to be broken by the soldier's report and he curtly responded, "Thank you, minion. Lead the way, and be quick about it. I don't want to wait for my immortality any longer than I must." The soldier took to the sky and the rest of us followed after him since the peon still possessed a scouter. Since I didn't have to strain myself to keep this pace, it allowed my mind wander as we flew over the bland terrain of Namek.

It was happening more frequently now. He was becoming more and more erratic and his mind was wandering more and more into the realm of mania and drifting away from reality. My eyes stole a glance at my master before darting back to look at the ground below. Lord Frieza's enemies always had claimed that he was insane, a raving lunatic, but this was not the case. Was he cruel and sadistic with a twisted sense of humor? Yes, but never insane. He always had a firm grip on reality and knew exactly what he was doing and why he was doing it. It was always part of a cold, calculated plan he had formulated. He always had a reason.

Like when he destroyed a planet, such as the monkey's planet or even my own, it was because the inhabitants poised a threat that had to be eliminated. Or because they were insubordinate, or vain, or didn't heed his call to join his glorious empire. Always a reason. And he didn't laugh while he watched a planet's destruction because he was insane, he laughed because he finds amusement in others pain. Nothing wrong with that, who doesn't find that amusing after all.

No, this was different. Ever since I had informed of the Dragon Balls and there mystical properties after that fool Raditz's demise on Earth. At first he dismissed the idea that such a thing could really exist and told me to allow Vegeta and his lackey to go on there "wild goose chase", though he told me to monitor the situation carefully. As time continued to pass though, Lord Frieza became more and more interested in research into the possibility of items that could grant any wish one desired and he assigned a team of top scientists and researchers on it. He became more and more obsessed with the possibility of immorality, his wish that he confined in me alone, and when the team discovered legends of Dragon Balls on the Planet Namek he immediately had his flag ship set out for the planet, and he became even more giddy when I presented him with the snippets of recording from the monkeys' scouters that confirmed our suspicion about the Dragon Balls on Namek. All the while as the chance for him to gain immortality became more and more realistic, Lord Frieza began to exhibit more and more signs of becoming unstable.

It was all that damn monkey's fault. If it wasn't for him and his sniveling flunkies going to Earth and discovering the existence of these mystical spheres, then there would be none of this immortality foolishness and everything would have remained is it was. Why was there any reason to change the status quo? Business was good and my position atop the most powerful organization in the universe was untouchable, but now if Lord Frieza became immortal how could long could I remain an indispensable part of his empire. Would it be months, years, decades before my master decided that I was no longer useful to him?

I shook my head. No! No, that won't happen to me, not like the others that came before me. Cato was a fool, an imbecile whose brain was about the size of a walnut. The idiot tried to tell me that someday I would be replaced and killed by my successor, exactly how I had killed him. Ha, the simpleton! He and all who came before him, none of them could compare to me. I'm more powerful and intelligent than all of them combined!

I am irreplaceable! Without me, the entire Planet Trade Organization would fall into disrepair. Who do you think oversees all of the business transactions for buying and selling planets? Me! Who do you think approves and assigns all of the purging missions that allow us to acquire the planets we sell? Me! Who do you think manages the everyday proceedings of this marvelous empire that I helped build with my own hands? Me!

A deep breath escaped my lips as I tried to calm myself. My temper, such a nasty little trait, was getting the better of me over something silly that doesn't even apply to the current situation. My eyes moved towards the horizon and I could see that we were beginning to approach a grouping of those things the Nameks called homes. They were a disgustingly bland white color with hideous spikes coming out of the roofs. Honestly I couldn't see what these backwards people saw appealing in these atrocious buildings.

My mind was still preoccupied when we touched down a few yards away from the horrid "homes" and Lord Frieza gave the order for the soldiers to bring out all of the residents out to us. The soldiers scurried away and they quickly positioned themselves around the doors to each of the buildings before breaking down the door and going inside of them. It only took a few seconds before they reemerged from the homes with its residents in tow and they threw them down, three older looking Nameks and two that seemed to still be in their childhood, at our feet.

My eyes combed over the appearance of the green aliens that were now standing before me. The Namekian race all appeared to be overgrown slugs, each possessing green skin with pink patches where there main muscles, such as biceps and abdominal muscles, where along with a pair of antennae. The older ones possessed a darker pigment skin color, giving them a more sickly look, and wrinkles could be found all over their bodies. The children possessed the normal bright green skin that the Nameks in their primes also possessed. As my eyes surveyed the small group in front of me, I realized that a certain age group was missing in this village.

"Several of the Nameks are missing Lord Frieza," I proclaimed. "The younger adults are not present; these seem to be the elders and the children of the village."

"Excellent observation Zarbon," praised Lord Frieza as he cocked his head as he examined the five being before him.

"Sorry, I'm afraid I haven't introduced myself. I am Frieza and I'm sure you've heard all about me. Now that we've gotten the introductions out of the way, how about you go ahead and tell us where the rest of you are before my men here get angry. Trust me, they won't be as civil as I am, so why don't you just go ahead and tell us."

My mind began to drift as Lord Frieza interrogated the slug people. We had already been through this routine with four other villages today. It was really quite dull dealing with these simpletons, who didn't seem to understand that they would receive quick and painless deaths if they would just give of us what we wanted to begin with, because if there was one thing I had learned in my nearly 40 years of service to Lord Frieza it was that he always got what he wanted. If he wanted this Dragon Ball, than there was nothing these dim-witted natives could do to prevent him from getting his hands on it. They would be better off just handing the ball over and maybe Lord Frieza would be in a good enough mood that he wouldn't kill all of them.

"We elders stay back with the children while the men go work in the field. Will that do?" finally answered the leader of the Nameks.

"There see how much better we get along when you cooperate," said Lord Frieza. "Now tell me where the Dragon Ball is."

"We don't have it," the slug man replied bluntly.

"You know I'd be inclined to believe you if the last village elder didn't say the exact same thing. Of course as he found out, we have our ways if getting people to talk." I saw Lord Frieza's eyes glance over at me before returning his stare to the Namekians.

"Zarbon, show our friends here how effective our power of persuasion can be."

My eyebrows arched slightly at the unusual request. Lord Frieza must have sensed my boredom because this was the brute's area of expertise. While my job as Lord Frieza's right hand man was to handle the running of his empire and all the other jobs that required someone with intelligence to handle, the porcupine's job was to handle all of Lord Frieza's dirty work and other jobs fit for a barbarian such torture and intimidation.

With a small nod of acknowledgement, I replied, "Of course Lord Frieza."

A smirk escaped from my lips as my body phased out of sight as I moved behind one of the village elders. My form became visible again once I stopped moving once I had reached my desired position and I drew my leg back as my target slowly turned around to face me. The look on his face was one of pure terror as he knew that he was staring death in the face as my leg whipped towards his exposed head. My ears relished in the sound of cracking bones as my kick connected with the old slug's neck and the blow sent his body skidding across the ground.

I was barely able to contain the wild smile that was hidden behind the stoic mask I wore as my feet hit the ground. My body had almost forgotten the rush that battle gives a person and I welcomed the adrenaline that was now beginning to flow through my veins. It had been for too long since I had engaged in the primitive joy that was battle and even though it was against such worthless opponents it still provided the invigoration that my body craved.

My ears pricked up when a wild battle cry tore from the lips of another elder behind me as the old fool prepared to attack me. Deciding to destroy my prey with style this time, I threw one of the Dragon Balls in my hand into the air and then followed it into the air to evade the blue energy wave the decrepit slug had fired at me. The flunky behind me was not so astute of the danger though and the purple being was fried by the wave.

Raising my hand into the air, I began to gather a small portion of my energy in the form of an orange sphere in the palm of my outstretched hand. Once I had gathered an adequate amount of energy, a smirk formed on my face as I unleashed my Shooting Star Arrow on the senile creature. The orange energy barrage wave reached its target in a mere second and incinerated him in, leaving no trace of the Namek elder. After firing the attack, I gracefully landed next to Lord Frieza's hoverchair and brushed a loose strand of hair back into place before raising my right hand, where the Dragon Ball I had thrown earlier landed perfectly back into the palm of my hand.

"So do you think you're ready to cooperate yet?" asked Lord Frieza.

"Why do you want the Dragon Balls anyway?" questioned the Namek.

"Oh just for a tiny little wish, not a big request, just the power of eternal life."

I heard the old man gasp before he exclaimed, "Do what you will with me, but I'll never give you the Dragon Ball for such a selfish wish!"

"You people here on Planet Namek our just so stubborn," said Lord Frieza. "Even under pain of death you refuse to relent and give up your precious Dragon Balls. Will see how stubborn you really are when your adorable children are at stake."

"You wouldn't!"

"They're just so cute though. I could just pinch their little heads off," threatened Lord Frieza as his voice lowered dangerously.

"Just try it!" bellowed the wrinkled being as he threw the two children behind his body in a futile attempt to shield them from sight. The men all laughed as Lord Frieza, with a smirk on his face, slowly raised one of his hands and pointed towards the three Namekians. As I watched impassively as my master threatened the natives, my attention was diverted from the spectacle when Dodoria's scouter began to beep.

"What is it?" I demanded, attracting Lord Frieza's attention as he turned his head to look at the mindless boor as well.

"It looks like we're going to have company soon," he answered before turning his head to look off to the side. Turning my head as well, I could already make it three faint outlines of what looked like Nameks making their way towards the village. It seemed that the men were returning from the fields. They would have been better off staying there I thought as the three beings landed to my left, all looking enraged as they quickly scanned over the state of their village.

"Impressive landing if I do say so myself," remarked Lord Frieza. "You are a little late though; your friends could have used your help a little earlier." The three warriors gasped when they saw the broken and lifeless body of the elder whose neck I had broken earlier.

"You're just in time for the fun though. We were just convincing your friends here to hand over their Dragon Ball so we could add it to my growing collection," continued Lord Frieza before slowly turning his head to face the younger slug beings. "You do think they should, don't you."

One of the creatures began to speak, but I quickly tuned him out as my eyes began to scan over the village, trying to find the most likely hiding place for the Dragon Ball. It was obvious that a conflict between the younger Namekians and our lower level soldiers was imminent but based on how the other villages had fared against us; it would be a short and uninteresting battle.

"Ha, how will I be able to contain my fear with such power levels," mocked the pink oaf as he examined the power levels of the new arrivals. "There at a 1,000 each."

Laughter filled my ears as I turned my attention back to trying to achieve our original goal of finding the Dragon Ball in this village. In every other hamlet we had visited so far the large orange sphere had been kept in a building that no one lived in. One of the Village Elders had called it the Gathering Den, a place where the villagers congregated for some reason or another. My eyes began to roam over the atrocious buildings as I tried to remember which ones our men had dragged Nameks out of and which they hadn't.

Really if we had just searched for the mystical orb in the first place instead of dragging the Namekians out and trying to force the information out of them, we would have already have the Dragon Ball in hand and be on our way to the next village. Lord Frieza just loved forcing people to bend to his will though so he insisted on this approach, even though it wasn't the most efficient method. But as he pointed out during at one of the other villages, since he was going to be immortal anyway, time was no longer important.

As I continued to try and analyze where the Dragon Ball was most likely to be, my thoughts were interrupted when out of the corner of my eye I saw one of lowly soldiers we had sent to deal with the Namek warriors on a collision course with me. Once the imbecile was within range, I swiftly kicked him in the head creating a cavity in the man's skull, as the force from the blow sent his lifeless body plummeting into the green lake behind me.

Upset by the fact that my own men were being thrown at me like some sort of projectile, I turned my full attention to the battle. My brow arched in surprise when I saw that the three slug men were easily handling the dozen men that were sent to deal with them, having already slain nearly half of the assailants.

"Are you sure there power levels at 1,000 each," I asked irritably.

The dimwitted alien, whose own mouth was agape in shock, pressed the button on his scouter which quickly measured the Namekian's power levels again. "I can't explain it, but somehow their power levels have risen to 3,000."

"Humph, it seems that the Namekians have learned to hide their true powers from our scouters," commented Lord Frieza.

_Just like Vegeta's earlier, _I thought as we stood there in silence for a few moments as we observed our men being thoroughly thrashed by the green beings.

"Kinda of killing our guys," remarked Dodoria, as he pointed out the obvious yet again.

"We have more of those things back at the ship," said Lord Frieza with a dismal wave of his hand. "I mean it's not like we're losing anything valuable."

Right as Lord Frieza finished speaking, I caught a thin golden beam in the corner of my eye and then my ears heard a small explosion and I glanced over to see that my repugnant cohort's scouter had been destroyed. My eyes traced the beam back to its origin point and found the venerable Namek already firing off two more beams that hit and destroyed the only two intact scouters that our party possessed.

Lord Frieza sighed before saying, "Dodoria kill them, I'm afraid my patience has run out for this bunch."

"With pleasure," snarled the feral brute before vanishing out of sight. The spiked fiend reappeared behind the Namek elder and viciously grabbed the beings head before snapping its neck. The barbaric berserker then flew towards where the three younger green beings were battling.

Diverting my attention away from the battle, my eyes scanned for any remaining pawn that could be used to test my theory. The answer came in the form of a small, light blue alien that was one of the few soldiers who hadn't rushed into the fight.

"You," I called out as my head motioned for him to come closer to me. The peon rushed over to my side and saluted me before standing at attention, waiting to receive my orders.

"Go check that building over there for the Dragon Ball," I ordered, using my eyes to tell the being which building I wanted him to search.

"Yes Commander Zarbon," he said before dashing into the building I had pointed out. My eyes never left the entrance to the structure, even when Dodoria returned praising himself for his victory over the pathetic natives. My theory proved to be correct when the pawn existed the building with one of the large orbs in his hands.

"Sir, I'm happy to inform you that we have discovered another one of the Dragon Balls," I said as the minion waddled over to us, with the mystical sphere in his hands.

"Good work Zarbon," said Lord Frieza in a slightly annoyed tone. "You found the one where we already knew its location. What about the other two that we have yet to find? How do you expect to find the other two now that all of the scouters have been destroyed? You do remember that I need all seven for my wish to be granted don't you."

My feet instinctively took a step back, taken aback by milord's attitude. I had just discovered one of the magical orbs that we had journeyed to this planet for and he was angry with me? I wasn't the one that had allowed my scouter to be destroyed. That was my nauseating partner's fault, not mine.

"Yes sir, I remember," I finally responded, "and I'm sure if we carefully…"

"I'll tell you how we're going to find the rest of them," interrupted Lord Frieza. "You and Dodoria are going to fly around this whole planet until you find the last two Dragon Balls and bring them to me!"

"Where will you be milord?" I asked cautiously.

"I am taking the five Dragon Balls I currently possess and I'm taking them back to the ship," replied Lord Frieza, "and I don't want to see either of your faces until you have a Dragon Ball in your hands. Now get going!"

Kicking off the ground, my body took to the air as fast as I possibly could. It was never a good idea to remain around Lord Frieza long while he was angry, seeing as he could kill you merely as a way of venting his anger. A bright white aura surrounded my body as I flew through the green sky and searched the terrain below for any sign of a settlement.

My teeth barred together as I thought of the situation the pink simpleton had dragged me into. It would take hours to find another village that we hadn't already visited without the use of a scouter. The only positive in this whole scenario was that the repulsive alien had flown in the opposite direction when we had fled from Lord Frieza's wrath, so I was not cursed by the imbecile's presence.

As I flew, I continued to seethe about the punishment that Lord Frieza had given me for the pink brute's mistake. There was no logical explanation for his actions, and I immediately thought back to some of the other erratic behavior Lord Frieza had exhibited today. Could this be another one of his maniac episodes? Was he slipping more and more out of reality and into the realm of insanity?

I flew in the skies of Planet Namek for hours on end, searching for any sign of a Namekian village. The closest I came was when my eyes spotted several of the appalling homes of the slug people, but when my feet touched the ground I realized that we had already visited this settlement. It was then that my mind discerned that I had flown around the planet so many times already that I wasn't able to keep up with where we had already been. Praying for a stroke of luck, I took to the skies once more.

A stroke of luck did occur, mere moments after that cursed prayer, but it was not of the good variety. As I flew through the sky, out of the corner of my eye I caught the glare of what seemed to be a bright stare. Just as my head was beginning to turn to try and get a better look at the light, a powerful force slammed into me and as I fell back glimpsed black hair.

"Well, well Zarbon, what a surprise," said Vegeta with a cocky smirk plastered across his face.

**Thanks for reading! I know I haven't really shown Zarbon really deciding to rebel against Frieza but that will be explored in the next chapter, and I know this chapter was kind of slow but this chapter was all about fleshing out Zarbon as a character and setting things in motion that will come into play later. If you didn't catch this in the chapter, one of the big differences in this story from the canon universe is that Vegeta succeeded in destroying the Earth, so there will be no Goku, or anyone else from Earth, swooping in to save the day on Namek. Another major change will be introduced in the next chapter as well which will cause this universe to skew even further from canon. **

**I came up with this story while re-watching the Namek Saga for my other story and this idea just hit me and I had to write it. The story will mainly be told from Zarbon's perspective, who is a textbook example of a Narcissist, but there will also be several chapters from other characters points of view as well throughout the story when Zarbon is not present for an event that is important to the story. Because the story is told in first person, you will see how the character (usually Zarbon) views the world and the people in it in a much more personal way, and sometimes in a biased way. I choose to write this story in first person because I wanted to challenge my skills as a writer because many of the most successful and critically acclaimed authors write in first person.**

**Again, thanks for reading and I hope you'll stick it out this story with me. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions about the story, please leave them in a review and I promise I'll address them, by using the bottom of each chapter to answer any questions or concerns you have. **


	2. Chapter 2: The Beast Within

**Alright, finally getting back to this story! Before I begin, I am happy to announce that my friend pointer39 has agreed to edit this story. Thanks go to him for helping me out and if any of you haven't read his story, Appule's Insurrection, I recommend it. If you like this story than I guarantee you'll like his since it is also written from the 1st POV and is also about one of the unsung characters of the DBZ universe rising up against Frieza.**

**Chapter 2: The Beast Within **

A snarl escaped from my lips as I stared down the obnoxious Saiyan who dared challenge me. I took in his disheveled appearance with a look of disgust and reproach. Dirt and grime had transformed his once pure white armor into a murky greyish color and it seemed like a layer of filth had caked over the monkey's face completing the vestige that he was a warrior returning from the trenches. Surprisingly, the only thing that seemed remotely clean about his appearance was the pillar of coal black hair that was formed like a spike above his head, originating from the prominent widow's peak that was the focal point of the man's forehead.

"Vegeta," I said in the most patronizing voice possible, "I had a feeling that our paths would cross eventually when I learned that you were coming to Namek."

The Saiyan Prince simply chuckled out my remark before replying, "Well I'm glad to see you to Zarbon, just like I was glad when I ran into Dodoria earlier. Of course, he wasn't so happy after I dispatched of him like the pile of garbage he is…And now I plan to do the same thing to you!"

A small smile formed on my face as he heard the news of my repugnant associate's demise. It was about time that pink ogre met fate and was removed out of my life permanently. I had actually surprised myself by not slaying the dope before during our many years of working together, but I always figured Lord Frieza wouldn't appreciate me sending his goon on a one-way trip to the next dimension.

"So, I see the scouter was correct in its assessment of your improved fighting ability Vegeta," I observed. "But if you think simply beating Dodoria means that you stand a chance of defeating me, well then you're stupider than you look."

"Save it Zarbon," sneered the monkey prince. "I know that you and Dodoria have roughly the same power level. Admit it; you're afraid of me and my new strength." He challenged.

Raising a hand to cover my mouth, I chuckled before stating, "Come now, you can't be serious Vegeta. But then again, I thought you were smart enough to realize that it was suicide to go against Lord Frieza, and yet here we are."

"Well unlike you, I'm not really suited to the life of a mindless servant." My haughty smile turned to a frown at the rugged man's claim. How dare he assert that I am just some mindless slave to Lord Frieza's whims! Doesn't he know that it's me who is the true mastermind behind the Planet Trade Organization's success? It's my genius that makes this grand empire run, while Frieza simply provides the capital and brute force that makes people fear us.

The Saiyan's statement had brought up a lingering suspicion I had formed some time ago. That I was not truly earning the praise and accolades I deserved for my extraordinary work in running the empire. Did people truly not realize that I warranted as much credit as Lord Frieza himself? Was it my liege himself that was diminishing my achievements so that I would remain beneath him instead of taking my rightful place as his equal? Doubts of my lord's good will towards me began to fester inside my head as the arrogant Saiyan continued his rant.

"…and I intend to have him groveling at my feet as soon as I've made my wish," he finished, with that same cocky smirk still plastered across his grimy face.

"You mean with the Dragon Balls," I said absent-minded as Vegeta's plan unfolded before me as he informed of his wish for immortality. Could that actually work? If one was immortal, Frieza would not be able to defeat you in battle because you could never die. So the Saiyan's plan was plausible, but there was one flaw in his plan that of course a simpleton like him would miss.

"Your little revolt will never succeed Vegeta," I informed him as my own smirk was reinvigorated as I trampled the fallen prince's dream of becoming the immortal ruler of the galaxy. "Frieza already has 5 of the Dragon Balls, and you'll never get your hands on those and it's only a matter of time until we have all 7."

"Save it Zarbon," scoffed the flame haired Saiyan. "I know that you're blind without your scouter, and that's a liability I don't share. My powers have improved in more ways than you can imagine."

After he finished his little speech, I chuckled at the Saiyan's naiveté. "So you've improved a little, it doesn't change I thing. What makes you think your abilities even hold a candle to Lord Frieza's? Not that it matters much since you're not going to be getting past me anyway. It seems that your feeble attempt at an insurrection was doomed to fail before it could even begin Vegeta."

"I'd say you already know the answer to that question!" shouted the angry little man. "Dodoria did as well, and before he died he told me everything! That's right, I know now that Frieza fears the Saiyans, which means he's afraid of me."

This one was quite the theatric I thought to myself as another snicker escaped from my mouth. "Don't flatter yourself, you poor, ignorant fool. What Frieza was afraid of was the entirety of the Saiyan race rising up against him, not a single, lone monkey. Why do you think we've left you alive for so long Vegeta, because you're as much of a threat as a fly attempting to dethrone a lion."

"Well," he retorted with an arrogant smirk, "we'll see." Suddenly, the deranged warrior phased from sight only leaving a slight after image of his smug grin behind where he stood moments before. I was able to track my opponent's movements fairly easily however and as he began to appear behind me, I twirled my body and threw my right fist at the bastard's face.

Too my surprise however, the rugged Saiyan seemingly effortlessly raised his hand up and caught my fist before it could connect with its intended target. My eyes widened in surprise as, for the first time, I noticed that there was something…different about the Saiyan prince now.

It was in his eyes, those onyx orbs that seemed to bore holes straight into your soul and they were able to see every secret that one had ever possessed. The only gaze that was slightly more intimidating was that of Lord Frieza's, but that was not what gave me pause. No, there was something now absent from those ebony spheres; they usually held so much contempt and hatred when we crossed paths.

Whether it was when he came back from a mission and was bowing before Lord Frieza, or when he was being humiliated by me or another one of Frieza's higher level soldiers or Frieza himself, his eyes had always shown malice and scorn for me. Now though these qualities were no longer present in the Saiyan's eyes, but in their place was a gleam of mockery in those onyx prisms now that he had finally surpassed me in strength and was ready to enact his vengeance.

This new look made me want to punch the monkey prince in his smug, prick face.

With a growl, I pulled back my fist and then spun my body as I gathered steam for a roundhouse kick aimed at the arrogant cretin who dared mock me. My kick never connected however as my adversary evaded the attack before lashing his grimy hands around my leg. His devious smile grew even wider as he spun me around in a circle before using his momentum to propel my body higher into the sky.

It only took me a split second to regain my balance and flip myself upright, but the ape was already pressing his attack again. I was ready for him this time though, and when he phased next to me I quickly blinked out of sight in a similar fashion, moving several hundred feet away in an instant. Quickly extending my right arm and bracing the limb with its twin, I began to charge up my most potent attack in the form of an orange sphere of energy.

With a loud shout, a large, orange wave of ki erupted from my palm with the orb of energy I had gathered earlier being the origin of the blast. The deadly attack I had fired raced towards its target, the ruffian who had foolishly thought he stood a chance against me. How could he? I was the right-hand man to Lord Frieza himself after all! No one in the entire galaxy could match my combination of strength and beauty, of power and grace!

A barbaric shout interrupted my salutations though and suddenly my energy beam was knocked off course and sent askew. The ki wave, now following its new trajectory, landed several miles to my right and upon impact exploded into a blinding orange dome of light that consumed the entirety of the terrain as far as the eye could see. The explosion made it appear as if a gigantic sun was rising on the horizon and the power of my attack assaulted my position with a powerful typhoon that caused my braid of emerald hair to whip around my face as it oscillated in the mighty current.

Once the breeze had subsided, I flipped my hair back over my shoulder and back into its rightful place before looking for the Saiyan. I did not have to look long before he found me as a blue, spandex clad, elbow smashed into my beautiful face, blemishing it with a trail of blood that rand from the corner of my mouth to the bottom of my chin.

The sight of the blue liquid threw me into a fit of rage. My dazzling appearance had been marred, and the one responsible had to pay immediately for this heinous crime! With a feral cry, I unleashed a flurry of kicks at the offender aiming to tarnish his hideous face in the same manner as he had mine. To my growing annoyance though, the Saiyan scum managed to dodge every single one of my blows, and after I could no longer take his trademarked smirk any longer, I put all of my force into one final kick aimed for those pearly whites.

The mighty blow never fell through as the blockhead disappeared from sight again as my boot met with an afterimage. I managed to look up just in time to see the Saiyan's white boot crash into my already impaired face. Wind rushed past me and my cape billowed in the wind aimlessly as I was sent on a collision course for the ground below, but I refused to be bested that easily. Flipping myself upright, I managed to skit to a halt as my feet dug trenches into the ground as they brought my inertia to a grinding halt.

My eyes scanned the skies above for any signs of the renegade monkey, but I was unable to find him before a felt an armored foot roughly shoved into the small of my back. The vigor of the strike sent my sprawling onto the ground, obscuring my majestic looks in the dirt defiling my noble outfit.

"Someone's a little out of practice," observed the deposed prince with a sneer. "Maybe if you weren't so rusty you might have actually stood a chance against me Zarbon! You see, while you've been kissing Frieza's ass, I've been intensely training, waiting for the moment when I could finally have you at my feet begging for mercy up until the point where I snuff out your pompous existence for good." He paused to smirk. "And here we are."

I pushed myself up to where I was resting on my hands and knees. This couldn't be happening! This, this simpleton was defeating me with little effort and now he was mocking at me. He would not dare make his snide remarks if he knew of the power I kept locked away inside of me! His arrogance would turn into horror; his confidence into fear, his so called strength would pale in comparison if I were to turn to my final, abhorrent, last means of defense.

Raising my hand to my face, I wiped away the trail of blood that had been streaming from my lip. It made little difference know I suppose if I was to mutilate myself with the metamorphosis, seeing as how the imbecile had already disfigured my body with his attacks. I might as well do it to myself instead of letting that savage have the pleasure, at least then someone worthy would be impairing my form.

A fit of laughter overtook me as I began to pick myself up, delighting in the knowledge that the Saiyan's demise would come in the upcoming moments. For all of his arrogance and all of his assurance in his own victory, the mutinous man had only been poking the sleeping giant until it finally awoke and delivered retribution to its agitator.

"Well I must say I am impressed Vegeta," I admitted even as I felt myself slowly slipping away into the folds of my sub consciousness. "You're fighting skills have definitely improved since the last time we met, but I'm afraid that haven't improved enough to save yourself!"

"So you're saying I'm not strong enough to beat you, is that it?" questioned my opponent with an amused look. "Funny because that's exactly what I thought I was doing." A loud round of laughter erupted from him even as I began to lose more and more control.

"Laugh all you want, but do you know the saying that beauty is only skin deep?" I asked. "Well right now your only seeing the beauty side of me and I don't think you'll enjoy my other side's company as much as my own."

A gust of wind rushed between us, almost in an outward expression of the change of current inside of my body and my mind. The unrefined warrior laughed again before expressing his disbelief.

"So you're claiming that you've been holding back this entire time? Well if you have then let me see it! Show me your true power so that I can continue humiliating you! So I can prove the strength of the Saiyans to you once and for all!"

As another powerful gust of wind caused my hair to go into disarray, a maniacal grin spread across myself as I barely held on to my body and taunt the fool one last time.

"Suit yourself then, but don't say I didn't warn you."

My entire body shuddered and my eyes rolled up and I faded into the recesses of my mind as I finally gave my mind and body to…him.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Free. I was finally free at last! My eyes roamed downwards and took in the glorious sight of the slimy, teal scales that covered my entire body. Power coursed through my body and my blood began to boil. I knew I had been released for battle, it was the only time I was ever released from the prison where my thirst for the blood of my enemies could not be quenched.

My ears pricked up when I heard the slight gasp of a person. From the sound of it, they had just seen a monster. A rumbling chuckle rippled from my throat before I turned to face my victim. It was a scrawny looking man, ah yes I remember now, the Saiyan. That distinctive hair is something even I could see from my cage inside of the pansy's mind.

A look of pure terror was stretched across the ape's face as he gaped at my transformation in unabashed horror. His fear excited me. My tongue scraped across the glistening fangs that resided inside of my mouth in anticipation of tearing into the stunned being standing before me. Blood filled the cavern inside and drank my own liquid with feral delight before addressing my prey.

"You were told you only saw the beauty side," I jeered as my muscular arms spread out like wings at my side as I stretched my limbs before pouncing on my quarry. "Now I proudly introduce you to the beast!"

Like the beast I was, I charged at my enemy and before he could even react my knee was rammed into his gut. He doubled over in pain atop my knee and a spat out a clot of blood that landed in a pool behind me. My eyes widened in satisfaction at my prey's suffering and in wild exhilaration at the sight of his blood. It was like I could smell its sweet scent in my nostrils, taste its bitter-sweetness on my appreciative tongue.

Removing my knee from his abdomen, I smacked my game to the ground where he skidded several feet to my left. Not letting my fun end so soon, I continued my invigorated assault by chasing after him and catching my boot underneath his chin sending the entirety of his form into the air.

But I wouldn't let the sky take him. No, this monkey was all mine! And he wouldn't get out of his suffering so easily… My hand wrapped around his ankle, my fingernails digging through the spandex that covered his skin and ripping through the flesh. The warm feel of the red liquid streaming down my hand only served to excite and stimulate me even more, and I slammed my captive face first into the ground, cracking the rock around the impact and created a perfect indenture of the bastard's head.

As my prey groggily crawled away from me, in a feeble attempt to escape his demise, I cackled with glee at his bloodied and enfeebled state. Roughly grabbing my mark's head by the side with both of my giant paws, I began to viciously smash our heads together. Blood splattered from the openings I was creating with my skull and from the gobs of it he coughed up from the pain he was enduring. I relished in its warm, sticky embrace as my face was drenched in the red liquid and my victim's howls of agony as I continued to hammer our heads together in a violent display of dominance.

Finally deciding that I was ready for some new method of brutality, I grabbed the trounced man and sent him skyward. After a few seconds of uncontrolled flight, he managed to right himself and then he foolishly decided to charge me as he unleashed a "fierce" battle cry. I merely rumbled my laughter before flaring my own aura and then leaping upwards to clash with my all too eager foe.

We collided in mid-air, and as a shockwave accompanied by a loud sonic-boom that echoed through the terrain below, our bodies became a tangle of limbs as we began to exchange blows. The only thought that was in my head, as my blows devastated my opponent while his merely bounced off of me like children's toys being thrown at a brick wall, was the euphoria of the kill. I could feel the climax approaching and I was savoring every minute of this before I was forced back into my corral.

When we finally disengaged from each other, my quarry was left gasping for air and wincing in pain from the injuries he had just gained while I was refreshed. In fact, the little skirmish had if nothing reinvigorated me for the grand finale of my massacre of this pitiful specimen.

As he slowly stumbled backwards for air, I quickly moved forward and delivered a kick that caught my prey underneath the chin. Being propelled upwards, I quickly phased in front of him and jammed my boot into his stomach before savagely grabbing the Saiyan's pointy hair. Once I had given it a few good tugs that evoked several cries of pain, I began to slap the man back and forth with my free hand. The monkey's head was whipped around like a rag doll from the force of the blow but always snapped back by my hold on his hair before the next smack came. Surprisingly, my victim's neck did not snap from the abuse. Oh well, more fun for me!

Releasing my grip on the mess of hair I had a hold of, I brought back both of my hands before clasping them over my head and then driving them down onto the ape's skull. My kill was sent spiraling down towards the ground below, but I wasn't finished with him yet. Blasting off towards him, I managed to catch up to my target and latch onto him in a pile-drive hold. Once I had a firm grip on him, I began to fly as fast as I could towards the ground accelerating his already rapid fall.

"This is the end Vegeta," I roared before laughing maniacally as I released my hold on my victim and letting him collide with the ground at the greatest velocity possible. The power with which he had crashed caused a giant cloud of debris to explode upward from the point of impact and to cover the entire landscape and sky with a dusty veil.

After the dust settled, I looked downward to see that the scrawny Saiyan's crash had created an immense crater that seemed to stretch for almost a thousand meters in every direction. The newly formed basin was so large, that it even reached to a nearby lake and the green, murky water that resided there had already begun to fill the newly created hole.

Looking down at my hand, I saw that some of my prey's blood still remained. I greedily lapped the liquid up with my tongue before letting out a satisfactory sigh. I could already feel myself being pulled back into my cage, but I did not put up too much of a fight against the flamboyant presence. My hunger had been sated…for now.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The first thing I did was regaining control of my body was to bring in a deep inhale of air, before gently exhaling. Lifting my hand, I carefully brushed the loose strands of hair that had found their way to the front of my face back into place before dusting my armor off. He always got my outfit so dirty, and bloody, when he took control. Such a brute.

Looking downward at the newly formed lagoon, which water was still running into, I sighed before taking off back towards where Lord Frieza's ship was parked. No doubt he would want to hear news of Vegeta and Dodoria's demises and without a scouter I had no other way of informing him of the news without personally delivering it.

As I flew, I began to reflect on the beast's latest victim, the monkey prince. It would be so dull without him around. He was the only soldier that really presented a challenge in breaking him and forcing him to do whatever you wanted, when you wanted it. There was nothing quite like seeing that burning glare of hatred after humiliating him.

Chuckling, my mind began to wander and I actually began to ponder how similar we actually were. I guess it is only in death that you can truly evaluate a person. Like me, he was a prince of a now nearly extinct race. Well, I guess in his case, his race is now truly extinct, eradicated from the galaxy for all eternity. He was probably the only person, besides Lord Frieza himself, who even came close to scraping my own level of intelligence and cunning.

There was one major difference though between the two of us though. He was a stubborn fool that was insubordinate to Lord Frieza and I at every turn, and instead of trying to work his way up to a place of power inside of the ranks of the PTO, he insisted on relying on his own strength and refusing to play the political games required to become an influential member of the organization.

I, on the other hand, dedicated myself to rising through the ranks by being the perfect soldier. I knew that once I had gained the power and prestige of being Frieza's most indispensable asset, I would no longer have to bow down to imbeciles and fools. I would be untouchable, no one would be able to mock me or push me around without feeling my wrath. The Saiyan never understood that the easiest way to survive was not be constantly challenging authority, but to submit to it until YOU became the authority. Then you would be the one that run everything, you would have all the power you could ever desire! Much more than you could ever attain by being the prince of a single planet where you could never reveal your greatness…

After a few more minutes of flight, I arrived at the disk-shaped ship that Lord Frieza traveled in. I quickly flew through the hole in the roof, using it as an entrance to the ship and rushed to the throne room.

On my way, I received several startled looks at my ruffled appearance. I still had some blood stains on my armor and my hair was a little disjointed, but I would simply kill those fools later for daring to be appalled by my looks.

Once arriving in the throne room, I found that Lord Frieza had his back to the door with the five Dragon Balls we had collected so far at his feet. My liege seemed to be transfixed by his own reflection in the mystical orbs, and he did not notice my presence until I announced myself.

"My lord," I began before stepping through the doorway into the room. "I come bringing you news of the utmost importance."

My eyebrows arched in surprise when my ears picked up a low growl emitting from my master. "I hope for you sake Zarbon that your news involves you bringing me a Dragon Ball," said Lord Frieza in low voice. "Or I'm afraid I wouldn't want to be you right about now."

I gulped before continuing, "No my Lord, but I did run into Vegeta. You'll be glad to know that he's dead, though not before slaying Dodoria."

Silence enveloped the room and I waited at attention as my lord simply continued to stare down at the orange globes that sat at his feet. Why was he not congratulating me? I had single-handedly eliminated the greatest threat to him not receiving his wish for immortality and quashed a rebellion against him before it could it even start. Was he upset about the oaf's demise? No, that couldn't be it; he always liked me better than that pink blob.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, my lord pivoted on his foot to look at me. I almost took a step back because of the cold, callous glare that I was receiving. Why was I receiving this treatment?

"Zarbon," he said slowly, "what exactly did I tell you to do before I sent you and Dodoria off?"

"That we were to find the remaining two Dragon Balls," I replied with confidence. I always remembered everything Lord Frieza told me.

"And when we're you too return here?" he asked, his voice still in that dangerously low range that always meant that he was fuming on the inside.

"But I thought you…"

"WHAT DID I SAY ZARBON!?" screamed the Arcosian, causing me too clap my mouth shut.

"Not to return until we had brought you one the Dragon Balls," I muttered, my own anger at being treated like this beginning to boil as well as my fear of my lord doing something to me he would regret in the long run. After all, how would the PTO fare without me?

"That's right Zarbon!" shouted the short alien before continuing. "And yet here you are with no Dragon Ball! Also about your prestigious feat of killing Vegeta, by doing that you may have cost me my chance at immortality you fool!"

"How so?" I stammered, unable to muster any other words to counter Lord Frieza's rage.

"A scouting party just returned after finding a demolished Namek village," he fumed. "Unlike the rest of the villages this one did not have a Dragon Ball. Now, I want you to use your brain on this one Zarbon, who could have possibly destroyed that village and taken its Dragon Ball?"

"Vegeta," I muttered, using the monkey's name as a curse.

"Vegeta, yes." my master replied, his voice having lowered in volume but still conveying the fury that he felt for me at the time. "Now, you better pray to whatever gods you believe in that you're a terrible killer and the he's still alive because he's your only hope of finding that Dragon Ball.

I'm giving you one last chance to save yourself Zarbon; unless you bring me back both of the remaining Dragon Balls in 3 hours then you might as well not come back since you'll be as good as dead. Do you understand me!?"

"Yes sire," I said quickly before exiting the room and swiftly making my way to the exit of the ship. It wasn't until I was outside of the confines of the ship that I was able to breathe again. Frieza's sudden outburst of anger towards me was completely shocking and unfounded. I come to bring him important, highly vital news and he blows up at me. He must have been in some sort of delusional state to believe that I was to blame for anything, much less Vegeta's actions.

Was it his increasing madness that was causing him to lash out at me? It must be, no sane person would be able to find fault in my performance on this mission so far. I was the one that had set up the entire mission to come here in the first place. It was because of me that he could potentially become immortal in the first place!

Then there was the threat to my life. In all my years of serving as his second-in-command, he had never threatened me quite like that before. Bodily pain? Yes. Revoking certain privileges for durations of time? Yes, but never before had he threatened to kill me, much less killing me for something that was not my fault to begin with. Besides, what did he think would become of his precious empire if he were to kill me? I ran it for him; the reason why it was great was because of me! Without me Frieza would just be an overpowered brat with a bunch of disorganized thugs destroying planets on a whim and making no profit from it what-so-ever!

My anger subsided some as I arrived back at the lagoon where I left my fallen foe. As a gust of wind washed over me, I couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu as I looked down at the pool of green water that was smooth as glass. In the center of the basin of green liquid, I saw something that caused my heart to skip a beat. There was a small circle of red liquid that seemed to congeal atop the murky pond water.

But as I continued to survey the scene below me, I noticed that pool of blood was not the only one that dotted the otherwise green canvas. In fact, there seemed to be a trail of red specks that led right to the edge of the lagoon. Quickly landing where they trail ended; my eyes saw that there were several large puddles of the red liquid before they disappeared entirely.

"So, that bastard is still alive," I muttered before turning my head to look into the sky in the direction I imagined the saiyan had flown off in.

**Thanks for reading! So the seeds of discontent and rebellion are already beginning to sprout inside of Zarbon's mind. Also, besides being a Narcissist, I think Zarbon suffers from Spilt Personality disorder regarding his monster transformation. That side of his origin will be explored later on in the story as I delve deeper into his past.**

**Alright, so I've decided I'll be answering review questions here at the end of each chapter. So if you have a question you're just doing to ask, leave it in a review and it will get answered here. So let's get rolling!**

**Q: You do know that Immortality and Eternal youth are two different things, right?**

**A: Yes I do. I think you mistook in the last chapter "Eternal Life" with Eternal youth. I never actually said Eternal Youth since as you pointed out that is an entirely different wish than Immortality or Eternal Life which is just a different way of saying Immortality.**

**Q: Great opening. I'll definitely be waiting for the next chapter.**

**I think of it as a what if sidestory to your Earthling's Chronicles (which is the best story i ever read about humans) because Zarbon really deserved a greater role**

**and he looks pretty humanoid as well. The only thing that bothers me is how Vegeta managed to both destroy the Earth and get beaten as badly as he was in the series (to have the power level 24000). I mean destroying the Earth had to be the last thing he did there and i doubt he could do it in his near death condition.**

**A: Great question. In this story, the battle on Earth diverged at the point right before Gohan transformed into an Oozaru. Everyone was down, completely exhausted while Vegeta was still standing. Instead of dealing with Yajirobe, Vegeta removes Gohan's tail thus preventing him from transforming and delivering the final blow to Vegeta that makes him leave. Without that battle against the Oozaru, Vegeta is still up while Goku, Krillin, and Gohan are all lying on the ground unconscious or unable to move. We can see from Piccolo and even earlier than that with Master Roshi that you don't actually have to have an extremely high power level in order to destroy an astronautically body as they are able to blow up the moon with a power level of 430 and 130 respectively. All you have to do is hit the core of the planet with energy and the planet implodes on itself. Even with Vegeta severely wounded, I believe his power level is still over a 1,000 and so he was able to destroy the Earth after leaving in his pod after finishing off Goku, Gohan, and Krillin in a similar fashion as he destroyed Planet Arlia. Again, great question.**

**Q: This is a really good start to a story that I have a feeling will be like your other story where some of the under utilized characters become the stars of the show. I only have one question, why does Zarbon hate Dodoria so much? In the anime and in the manga they seemed to get along just fine.**

**A: Another good question. Zarbon and Dodoria are complete opposites of each other in every way except for the fact that they work for Frieza in a similarly ranked position. It only makes sense that Zarbon, who is obsessed with appearance and looking good, would despise the slovenly Dodoria. Though even in the dialogue of this story, he doesn't display it as much in spoken word, only in his thoughts about his partner.**

**Again, thanks for reading and if you would like to leave a comment, suggestion, or question about the story please leave it in a review. Thanks for all the support for the first chapter! I thought the premiere of this story was a great success! I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Art of Manipulation

**Chapter 3- The Art of Manipulation**

In the hours that I've spent traversing this planet so far, I have decided this had to be the most dreary and verbose geography in the entire universe. It was as if the same mountains and ravines were somehow uprooting themselves and somehow reappearing before me. The terrain wasn't much of a sight to behold the first time and by the 22nd time of seeing the same bloody rock cropping, my temper got the better of me.

After the dust from the explosion had begun to settle down, a string of curses spilled from my lips. Not only was I now covered in soot from my temporary lack of discipline but the futility of the hunt for the Saiyan Prince truly began to sink in. Without a scouter, there was no way to track the man and the probability of just finding him by flying overhead was between the range of zero and nil.

There was nothing else to do though. No matter how hopeless this pursuit was, it was certainly a much better chance of survival than going back to the unbalanced Arcosian prince empty handed. That would be worse than a death sentence, and there was no way I was going to give up my precious life that easily. It was one of the main reasons why I possessed such a high rank in the organization, my unique ability to adapt and overcome all obstacles in my way. This was just another hurdle to overcome, and it would take more than a rogue Saiyan to cause my downfall.

An eternity seemed to pass me by as I continued to scan the banal meadows below with my eyes. What a bittersweet victory over the arrogant fool? After all of the times he had been allowed to get away with his smart-aleck attitude with me because he was one of Frieza's "pets", I had finally gotten the chance to put the bastard in his place. Now though, it was looking like the bastard was going to have the last laugh, for with every passing second I could feel a cool, icy beam of purple seemingly growing closer to piercing my heart.

Shaking my head, I looked upward towards the horizon and was stunned when my eyes were met with the sight of a looming tower of rock. Unlike the other pillars that seemed to dominate this planet's surface, this one rose high above its brethren and rested in sole possession of the skyline. The other thing that made this one stand out was the fact that atop its rocky peak was a lone cream colored Namekian home.

A noxious feeling of déjà vu coursed through my veins and a knot seemed to form in my chest. This was the second image from my dream the previous night that had come to pass. What did this all mean? Creatures with the gift of foresight were not completely unheard of in the galaxy but never in my wildest dreams did the thought occur to me that I could potentially have the ability myself. Or was this simply a strange coincidence?

No explanation was to be, as I seemed to gravitate towards the lone building. Before I even realized it, my feet had touched down before the entrance to the large-by Namekian standards-residence. I felt like a puppet as my limbs seemed to be pulled along by strings, forcing me to enter through the dark opening that led to the interior of the alien hut.

Inside of the hovel, everything seemed to be shrouded underneath a dark blanket that obscured everything from my sight. Not that were was anything except blue tiles that covered the barren room's floor. These uncouth creatures undoubtedly needed a lesson in civility; though I guess they had no reason to expect company due to their complete lack of social graces. The Namekian's hadn't been the most gracious hosts so far during our brief time on this planet.

Still though, what was the purpose of living in such a Spartan manner? Was it because they liked the resources that they lived in such a primitive fashion or was it a personal preference of theirs to "live" in such a way? These simpletons must not have realized yet that a man's possessions are what shall define him. They were a symbol of status; the more possessions a person has and how lavish they are, shows how important their owner is. Clearly, the residents of this home were even lower on the social hierarchy than a sanitation worker.

After giving my eyes some time to adjust to the sudden absence of light in the building, I noticed that there were strange cracks in the ceiling overhead. It didn't take me long to realize that it must the portion of the tile was retractable and granted access to the upper level of the house. Of course now came the challenging part, actually getting up to the second floor.

Seconds turned into minutes as my attempts to open the latch failed. I exhausted every method that came to me and my temper began to rise as the stubborn access panel continued to reject my efforts to open it. To prod at the issue, I had been severely underwhelmed so far by this place that had attracted me in such a severe manner moments ago and no rudimentary portal was going to keep my curiosity in check. It was unfortunate, but it seemed like more…barbaric…methods were going to be needed.

Once the tremors had ceased, I nonchalantly floated through the newly created window to the upper level of the complex. Sad to say, but the décor of the building did not improve as my feet softly landed on the same bland navy tile that had covered the previous area. Though this room did actually have an occupant, but he did little to improve the scenery.

Sitting before me in an extremely large throne was the one of the most abhorrent creatures I've ever had the misfortune to set eyes upon. The being was certainly one of the natives of this planet; he had the same sage colored, leathery skin that the other elderly inhabitants had possessed though this one possessed even more wrinkles than the others. No, what set this one apart from the others was its enormous size. The level of obesity this alien possessed made the pink oaf look like an anorexic! I couldn't even stand the sight of the thing without nearly vomiting!

"You must be one of the invaders that has been terrorizing my children," said the mammoth through his quadruple chin. "Tell me, why did you and your master come to our planet?"

"And I was led to believe your species survived merely on water for substance," I muttered under my breath before properly addressing the monstrosity before me, attempting to veil my disgust in the process. "I am the right-hand man of the exalted Lord Frieza on a vital mission to retrieve the legendary Dragon Balls that reside on your beautiful planet."

A snort somehow emitted from the lard filled jaw of the oversized slug before me. "There is no reason to be civil and pretend that you are here peacefully. I know that your master and his men have slaughtered my children by the dozens. It does not surprise me now that I know the identity of the culprit of these crimes against my people. Frieza's brutality is known to even those in the far edges of the universe and I know that none of my children would willingly give up our relics to such a fiend."

"It would have been better for them to give up their Dragon Balls quietly. They would have lived much longer. Milord may have even spared their lives in gratitude for helping him attain eternal life." Miracles did happen every now and then after all.

"I assumed as much," said the obese creature. "Of course that tyrant would ask for such a selfish request from the Dragon Balls. As I stated before, my children would never allow such a wish to be made. They would rather die."

"And they did." Honestly, what was the point in their futile resistance? What did it truly accomplish in the end? It hindered us from actually seizing the Dragon Ball at the most for a few minutes. Their deaths were completely and utterly pointless and for what? To die nobly and to uphold a few foolish morals. Those sentiments ended up getting you killed, as shown by those idiotic villagers.

"So I assume you're here for this then." Looking up after the green blob's words, I was pleasantly surprised to see a shining, orange orb with one red star on its smooth surface resting above the throne. "I'm afraid that I won't be simply handing it over though."

A chuckle escaped from my lips. "Now that you mention it, I do what that lovely ornament that's hanging over your head. Though, I doubt you can prevent me from taking it from you. Clearly you wouldn't be able to stop me by force if it came to that, so how do you plan to bar me from taking the ball?"

Laughing, I gingerly took to the air and quickly closed the distance between myself and my objective. What luck! Lord Frieza demanded a Dragon Ball for me to remain in his good graces and one happens fall right into my lap with only a mortally obese guardian protecting it. Of course, fate smiled on me yet again. Of course it had blessed me my entire life so why should today be any different. Clearly, destiny had some grand plan for me that only I could fulfill.

As my hands grasped hold of the mystical globe, a sudden pull on my leg caused my attention to be drawn away from my objective. Wrapped around my toned leg, was one of the slug's slimy, grotesque hands. A snarl of disgust emitted from my mouth as this hideous being violated my body with his touch.

"What do you think you're…" My exclamation of horror and rage never finished as a sudden surge of electricity seemed to course through my body and a white blaze erupted around me. Simultaneously, it seemed as if all of the memories of my life were played before me in extreme fast forward. From the earliest childhood image to my enlistment into the Planet Trade Organization all the way to my arrival at the home of this shaman, all of these pictures of my life flashed before my eyes at once and yet separately at the same time. It only took me a split second for me to realize that my mind was being probed but by the time of my realization the invasion into my head was over.

Kicking through the air, I landed several yards away from the assailant, firmly clutching the Dragon Ball in my arms. Panting slightly from the experience of having my memories examined against my will, I let the orange globe drop from my arms and roll away before leaping to my feet. Raising my hand to point at the varmint before me, a purple orb of energy formed in my hand in preparation of the offender's execution.

"What did you do to me!?" It was a pointless question; of course I knew what the dead man had done to my mind. It had examined my mind and the penalty for the egregious crime against me would be the ultimate one.

"Calm yourself Zarbon," it said. "I did nothing but merely examine your memories to know what had occurred so far on my planet. It seems that all of my children have been found and mercilessly slaughtered, though I am glad that at least one of the Dragon Balls has escaped your master's greedy hands."

"Liar! You looked through all of my memories, not just the ones dealing with my time here on Namek. What 'purpose' did you have in invading those memories? Do you have no sense of decency or respect for a person's privacy?"

"Coming from the man that simply barged into my home and stole my most precious item," scoffed the green loafer. "To answer your question though, I wanted to know what sort of people would commit such heinous crimes against innocent people for their own personal gain."

"Will I hope you were satisfied with what you found," I said seething. "For it's the last thing you will have done in your pathetic live."

"I was stunned though by what was shown to me," it remarked. "You have lived a hard life Zarbon and I feel pity for you."

"I don't want your pity! I've done what was required of me during my time working for Lord Frieza to survive and move up in the world. I don't regret any of my actions, so your pity is unappreciated."

"Yes, but I meant more about your childhood. Your father…"

"Is none of your concern!" I shouted, the ball of energy growing in size at the mere mention of that monster. "He's long since been dead, and it warms my heart to know that not even his bones remain to defile the universe with their presence."

"Still though, I do not understand why you serve such a decrypt individual as this Frieza character? Why do you serve a man that destroyed your home and has forced you to commit such unspeakable acts of violence?"

The sphere of energy in my hand died out as silence filled the space between me and the corpulent being before me. Finally, my eloquent voice filled the barren room with its sweet reverberations.

"Because he has power, the kind that makes entire civilizations tremble at the mere sound of his name. The influence to force anyone in the entire universe to bend to his will. No one defies Lord Frieza and lives long enough to tell the tale. It is that power I serve, that I crave… To have a fraction of that kind of authority is what I strived for during my days as a mere peon in organization and now I've claimed it for myself. Though, you must know all of this already. You've looked into the recesses of my mind."

"Yes but still, clearly you are a talented individual. Why do you waste your gifts on benefiting a man that doesn't see your true potential as an equal to him instead of another subordinate? For example, you've massacred my children in the quest to secure Frieza's immortality. Why not use the wishes on yourself in order to claim your rightful place atop the Planet Trade Organization's hierarchy? You are the one that found out about the Dragon Balls in the first place, you are the one that has located them and retrieved them, and you are the one that eliminated the biggest threat that existed to someone else receiving the wishes. Reward your hard work with the bounty you deserve, the ability to rule the universe."

"I value my life. Military insurrection is one of the three things milord simply does not tolerate. Stealing the wishes for myself would surely be a death sentence if I were caught in the act."

Even though the words echoing from my mouth seemed to indicate a refusal to even consider the option of claiming the wishes for myself, the shaman's words weighed heavily on my mind. Everything the disgusting alien said did make a lot of sense. Why was I helping Frieza obtain something that would eventually make me obsolete when I was the one that had done all of the work to find and retrieve these artifacts? It would only be fair to not let my hard work go to waste on a pampered and spoiled prince that was useless to his empire. The Organization would be better off under my control than it was in the Arcosian's incompetent hands. I practically ran the operation myself anyways and the only thing Frieza brought to it was the ability to destroy perfectly sellable planets for petty and immature reasons. Besides, his sanity seemed to be slipping from his grasp…Yes, I would be a much better emperor of the universe now than he was. It would be for the best if I was in command.

"The only way you can gain great power is with some risk Zarbon," lectured the avoirdupois and wrinkled Namek. "Besides, how much of a risk would it really be? You're superior intelligence and cunning should allow you to secure the Dragon Balls for yourself no problem, and with the wishes you should be able to dispose of Frieza easily enough. Then you can take your rightful place as the ruler of all galaxies Zarbon, where you will be worshipped like a god because of your unrivaled beauty, intellect, and power. It is your destiny and Frieza has been denying it to you because he is jealous of you. Take what is meant to be yours."

The oversized slug spoke the truth; I did deserve to rule instead of Frieza. The little imp's time had run its course. It was time for a ruler that possessed the delicate balance of grace and ruthless to reign and the person that destiny had chosen was to be me. Looking back on it now, it was so painfully obvious that Fate had chosen me to be the greatest leader of men the universe had ever seen!

Then of course there were also the practical reasons for me to make a run at the Dragon Balls. For a while now, a sneaking suspicion had been rattling around in my brain about my safety blanket from death as Frieza's right hand man. As the Arcosian's mental state continued to worsen, the more it felt like he was beginning to view me as just another disposable lackey instead of the vitally important commander I was. This gamble for ultimate power could in fact be my only viable option for long-term survival.

I had always survived. For nearly 40 years, Frieza's every whim was carried out by me and me alone, until I was untouchable. A fine veil of safety seemed to protect me, but now it seems that even as his right-hand-man my very life is forfeit. Years of unquestionable loyalty have been knocked aside. So now, in order to survive... I must eliminate Frieza and become ruler of the universe... myself.

"You seem to be a very wise being," I said in an extremely courteous manner. "Your words seem to be dipped in undeniable truth. It's unfortunate though that I'll have to end your life right here and now though. I can't let your offense to my body go unpunished after all and if I do end up revolting against Frieza then I can't have you alive to potentially tell anyone now can I?"

"Go ahead Zarbon." My eyebrows arched and I tilted my head slightly to the side in surprise from the words that echoed through the room. "Now that all of my children have perished, I wish to be reunited with them in the Otherworld."

My brilliant white teeth illuminated the room as a devious smile formed across my face. "So, you wish for death? Well then, I believe I've found a more appropriate punishment for your transgression. Farewell sir. I'll make sure that no one arrives here to disturb your grieve."

With a dashing smirk, I retrieved the discarded Dragon Ball and then took my leave of the hideous creature. Exiting the house seemed to relieve a weight off of my shoulders. I was no longer conflicting with what the future held for me. My path was clear now and nothing would deny me my destiny. There was still one thing that needed to be done though before I could grab hold of it though…

* * *

The bristling of my cape filled my ears as my aura dispersed from my body upon arrival at the coordinates of the last remaining village on the planet. Well, not much of it was remained of it after the Saiyan had his way with the place. All of the pitiful hovels that these people called "homes" were reduced to rumble and their inhabitants lifeless bodies were scattered before me. Their purple blood stained the blue plains before me, completing the picture of carnage that Vegeta had left in his wake. So it seemed he had learned a few tricks during his time in the organization after all.

Not that there wasn't breathing specimen in the area. Oh no, there was a squadron of soldiers here scourging the area for the Dragon Ball that was speculated to have been in the village. Every other hamlet that we had been to so far had possessed one of the mystical spheres, so it was reasonable to assume that there had been one here as well. Of course, the gorilla had clearly taken the glove somewhere but what better place to start than the scene of the crime?

This expedition was still a long shot though. The mongrel could have taken and hidden the artifact anywhere on the planet and there was about a 0.00001% chance of actually finding the magical orb. However, fate had already smiled upon me once today and delivered a Dragon Ball right into my hands. Why not give me two?

"Lord Zarbon!" exclaimed a humanoid looking man off to the side of me. Turning my head, I saw that he and two other flunkies were saluting me as beads of sweat fell down their necks. Clearly they believed that my arrival here could only mean trouble for them. No doubt because of their lackadaisical purpose of their assignment so far. Luckily for them, punishing incompetent idiots wasn't on my docket for the day.

"At ease men." The trio immediately dropped their arms and the tension seemed to wash away from their muscles as my calming tones assured them that today was not their last. "Status report from whichever of you is in charge around here."

"That would be me sir!" hissed a purple snake like alien as he stepped in front of the other two men. "So far we have had no luck finding any trace of the Dragon Ball that we believe was located in this village sir. We also have no inclination of where Vegeta could have run off with it either sir. This place seems to be a dead end in my opinion."

"Well you're not paid for your opinion Sui." The scathing sound of my voice instantly reignited the fear of retribution in the drone as his shoulders tightly constricted and another bead of sweat rolled down from his face. Deciding not to prolong the man's suffering; I continued with my questioning.

"Were there any survivors?"

"No sir, it seemed that the monkey was very sure to make sure that there were no witnesses to see what he…"

"HOW DARE YOU TOUCH ME YOU MAGGOT!"

Turning my head towards the sudden outburst of rage, I almost dropped to my knees and thanked the gods right then and there. Several yards to my right stood an orange, octopus-like humanoid towering over the supine form of a half-dead Namek. It seemed like Lady Luck had a fancy for me. But then again, who didn't?

Giving the repulsive snake a bemused look, a scoff tore from my lips before his well-deserved reprimand fell upon him. "You were saying? I swear every new batch of you so called 'soldiers' seem to become more and more moronic. The monkeys were better at your job than you imbeciles."

Leaving the cretins to shiver in their boots, I turned and made my way towards the only pitiful creature in the universe that could potentially knew what the ape did with the Dragon Ball. It was entirely possible that this poor simpleton had no clue about his race's valuable relic's present location and that it would require tracking down the wounded Saiyan himself to find it. However, what was there to lose by seeing what the slug knew?

"Please…help me," came the soft pleas of the green alien as he crawled before the smirking invader that held the other being's life in his palm.

"How dare you defile me with your filthy hands!" cried out the slimy squid as he raised his hand to end the vermin who lay at his feet's life.

"Orlen! How dare you treat this man in that manner! Don't you realize that he and his people are the victims here?" The insanely large headed buffoon was completely flabbergasted by my sudden rescue of the deplorable creature at his feet. I understood his shock completely, it wasn't really the Planet Trade's way to be kind to the species that they massacred but this situation called for some charisma and more importantly restraint.

With a dismissive wave of my hand the appalling, orange soldier scurried away from the scene. At least his colossal sized head correctly informed him that being in my presence after being scolded was not the most ingenious idea. Kneeling down, I suppressed a cringe as the slimy hands of the insect wrapped around my shoulders as he was helped up to his feet thanks to my self-control. It really did pain me to allow my garments to be soiled by the Namek's grimy appendages, but it was simply an unfortunate necessity at the time.

"Are you alright sir?" I asked my soothing voice drenched in false sincerity and concern. "I am truly sorry for my man's behavior and deeply troubled by it as well. Rest assured, it won't happen again and he will be properly reprimanded for his malfeasance."

"Thank you," croaked the green alien. "I thought for a second there that I was going to perish along with the rest of my brethren. It's nice to see that not all outsiders are completely monsters."

It seemed that it was time for me to do a little more acting now and play ignorant about what had occurred here. Maybe the fool would let something important slip during his retelling of events.

"What do you mean sir? I assumed that the criminal that we are in pursuit of was here, based on the state of your lovely village. Could you tell me what exactly happened here? As of now, all I know is purely speculation."

Nodding, the sap began to recount his personal sob story. It took all of my self-restraint to keep myself from rolling my eyes.

"A short man with large, spiky hair landed in our village several hours ago. We greeted him courteously as we our bound to do by our customs, but he rebuked our gestures of friendship with hostility. He demanded that we hand over the relic that we kept here."

"A Dragon Ball," I interrupted. "We were told of these artifacts by one of the other villages elders. It seems that a few of the other villages have also by attacked by this fiend. I'm sorry, I forgot my manners, please continue." I urged.

"Yes, it was our village's Dragon Ball that he sought. When our village Elder denied his request though, he flew into a rage. He shot down Elder Tsuno in cold blood with a sadistic smile plastered across his face. The other younger Nameks and I attempted to stop him, but he was too powerful for us to handle and easily defeated us. I was flung from the fray and knocked unconscious but I can remember the noise of the massacre as he proceeded to murder every single one of us. I regained consciousness while he was searching through our homes in an attempt to find the attempt he had slaughtered us for."

"Do you happen to know what the Saiyan did with the Dragon Ball? It is vital that we make sure that this devil does not manage to use the wishes that the grant."

The young, naïve fool paused for a moment before telling me, "Yes, it is important that we keep the wishes out of his hands. Alright, yes I did see what he did with the ball. He tossed it in the lake over there." My eyes followed the creature's gesture to a green lagoon at the edge of the village. A warm feeling began to fill my body with anticipation. Finally, all seven of the mystical globes were in my grasp and now all that was required was to gather them together and use them to grant me ultimate power!

"Sui, Banan!" I shouted out to two idle vermin. "I need you two to search the bottom of that lake there. That is where the Saiyan hid the Dragon Ball! Quickly now, before I lose my temper." The two imbeciles spring to life and scampered away to obey my commands.

Turning back to the slug-man who was now leaning against the side of the building, I began to gather energy in the palm of my hand that resided behind my back. He had played his part and now it was time for him to exit this dimension and follow in the footsteps of the rest of his disgusting kin.

"Thank you for your help sir," I proclaimed truthfully. "I am not sure if we ever would have been able to foil the Saiyan's plan without your help. I am grateful."

The weary alien chuckled slightly as my arm began to itch forward, in anticipation to strike down the simpleton. "Well, even if you hadn't been able to find the Dragon Ball, I doubt he would have gotten his wish. Unless he happened to be fluent in Namekian."

The ball of energy died in my hand immediately as my brain processed my patsy's words. What did he mean that he wouldn't have been able to use the artifacts without knowing Namekian? Was there some sort of password involved in invoking the wish-granting dragon?

"What do you mean friend?" I urgently implored. "Why can only speaking your native tongue allow you to summon the Dragon?"

The insect dared to cock an eyebrow at me and I could see him churning my motive in his head. His probing gaze made me want to strike down the insolent maggot right then in there, but I managed to hold my anger in check. Though he did seal himself a painful death with the look that he gave me.

Finally, the slug seemed to deem my worthy of his precious knowledge. "Yes, only be speaking a certain chant in our native tongue can Porunga be summoned. Without it, the Dragon Balls are just a collection of nicely polished globes."

While it seemed like the man wasn't going to give me the information that I actually required for my plan to be successful, it was a start. With a little more…persuasion it seemed like this chant that was required could be wrung from this nimrod.

"Well, you look worse for wear!" I exclaimed through my fake smile. "Tell you what, I'll take you to our ship and allow you to use our rejuvenation tanks. They will heal your wounds and then we can escort you to one of the other villages. It will be the least we can do for all of your help."

"The healing would be much appreciated," he admitted. "Thank you for your kindness sir, I don't know what state I would be in if it weren't for you."

A small smile spread across my face at the irony of his statement. By the time I was finished with him, he will have wished that Vegeta would have killed him along with the rest of his detestable people.

* * *

My fingers tapped gently against the silky fabric of the sleeves that covered my memorizing teal skinned arms. Waiting outside of the torture chamber preparing for my heroic rescue was quite dull. Time needed to pass for that idiotic Namek to really get worked over well by Namole and if I was lucky, the skinny bastard would come out with the password before my part even was needed.

It had been around an hour since I had arrived with the last two remaining Dragon Balls and the wounded native back on the ship. My first priority upon my arrival was to make sure that my slimy captive made it to the healing tanks. He had to see me helping and attempting to tend to his wounds so that the seed of trust I had planted inside of his mind earlier would truly begin to grow. Of course, once the fool was unconscious, he was immediately removed from the rejuvenation chamber and hauled off to where he was to be tortured by Captain Hideous Haircut.

After my plan to extract the password was underway, I was summoned to my former master's chambers. It was difficult to face and his piercing gaze with the knowledge that soon he would be nothing but another crushed victim of mine. My composure held, but the two Dragon Balls in my possession were lumped together with the five that his eyes had not left in hours to complete the set. It was also then that I was forced to divulge the information of the password to the tiny imp. A tragedy to give up such valuable information to my competition but it was necessary since he had immediately tried to summon the dragon then and there to wish for immortality.

The Frost Demon had flown into a rage when he it finally penetrated his bony head that the relics were not obliging his whims. A tremor of terror had racked my body in that moment and the thought of it now sent chills down my spine. Even now after the fact, his wrath at the thought of his wish not occurring would have broken a lesser man and for a brief instance I considered backing out of my intentions to take the power of the Dragon Balls for myself. How could one hope to stand up to such an enraged force of nature?

Though in actuality, when my fit of fear left my mind and let me think clearly, Frieza's display really strengthen my conviction. His sanity left him when his plans did not unfolded perfectly as he foresaw them in his mind, and anyone near him at a time of such madness was at risk of death. Clearly, the only way to ensure my residence in this dimension was to seize power for myself and eliminate my former lord once and for all.

After I had calmed him with the assurance that the chant to raise the Eternal Dragon was being extracted as we spoke, Frieza had sent me away and instructed me not to return until the password was "chiseled into my brain". So now my frame leaned against the purple wall of the ship as the time passed until my grand entrance and final act of my play commenced. If everything went according to plan, the seat of power that my heart desired would soon be mine.

Finally, after a few more minutes, my patience grew thin and my fingers seemed to glide as it entered in the access code to the room. It seemed even my limbs couldn't help but attempt to speed up the process of gaining ultimate power. The door to the room slid open with a sinister hiss and I quickly marched through the door.

The sight that greeted me was a gruesome one. In a metallic chair in the center of the otherwise empty room was the battered and scorched Namekian. Ki bonds restrained the captive's limbs and its purple blood streamed all across its body and face from the countless cuts into its slimy skin. Burns littered its arms and chest and even one of its hideous antennae was now missing. As much as I thought it impossible, the creature before me looked even more disgusting than it did when my eyes first saw it.

"Lord Zarbon I…" began the blonde-haired Captain but he never finished his sentence as one of my hands covered his mouth and the other was inserted between two of his ribs. The dimwit's eyes widened in shock as his life quickly left his body and spilled onto the tiled floor below. A small sensation of pleasure shoot through my being as the pawn's eyes rolled up onto his head and the hands that had been clutching my arm fell lifelessly to his side.

After playing the part of the hero sufficiently to my liking, I allowed the fallen prop to slide down the wall and slump onto the floor. For a second my gaze lingered on the unfortunate minion. The man had played his part beautifully until the end; no doubt my audience was impressed by both of our performances.

Releasing my target from his bonds, I once again disgraced myself by allowing the creature to lay its hands upon me. Blood soaked into my newly cleaned cape and armor as it slumped against me, depending on me to support it.

"By the gods!" I exclaimed. "I had no idea of what their intentions for you were, I swear. When I arrived at the healing chamber one of the technicians told me that they had already let you leave and go back to your people. I could tell he was lying though and he finally conceded the truth to me. I got here as quickly as I could; the sight of what they did to you makes me want to vomit my friend."

"I am grateful for your assistance," the slug muttered wearily. "But won't you get in trouble for helping me and killing that man?"

"I am not concerned about the consequences; all that worries me now is getting you out of here. I can't work for such cruel and barbarous masters as these men have proven to be. We are outnumbered though and you are severely wounded. There has to be something that will allow us to get to safety and rid you home world of these despicable men!"

The key to manipulation was making your mark believe that they are the one to come up with an idea, when really you are the one that plants the thought in their head in the first place. It makes your victim much easier to work with when they think they are the brains behind whatever operation you are fooling them into believing that the two of you are working on together. Fortunately, this nitwit wasn't the brightest candle in the universe and played right into my hands.

"The Dragon Balls," he finally said. "We could use the wishes to solve this plague of foreigners that are trying to defile my home. Though I believe that you only have two right now."

"No," I quickly interjected. "I discovered that all seven are onboard. All I would need is the password and I could make the wishes. It's unfortunate, but you won't be able to make it through security to get to them. I will hide you in my quarters until the dust settles but I will need that enchantment to summon Porunga that you told me of earlier to ensure that we can both make it out of this alive."

Again, hesitation hung over the native's face as he pondered whether or not to divulge his people's secret to a stranger. However, because of my skillful manipulation of my appearance to this fool, he finally conceded the password to me and whispered the phrase into my ear. It was inevitable though, no one could resist me for long.

I felt my jaw twitch as my mouth formed a devilish smirk as the syllables required for my dream to be a reality entered my ear. After the last vibration had ceased ringing my ear drum, my hands moved as if they had minds of their own and grasped hold of my prey's head. It's eyes didn't have time to widen before the creature crumpled before my feet and stained my white boots in its violet blood.

Leaving the corpses to rot, I quickly made my way back towards Frieza's throne room. There was no way around it; he would have to be with me while my wishes were granted by the magical spheres. There was no way he was allowing the precious items out of his sight, but since I was the one that could actually summon the dragon it should be no trouble to be the first one to shout my request to it and receive my birthright. That pompous bastard would more than likely still be celebrating his "victory" while the power of the Dragon Balls was already working its magic on me.

A hint of a small still clung to my face as the door to my predecessor's chamber opened to allow me access into the room. This was it, the victory lap. I could already feel the power of being the emperor of the universe firmly in my grasp and nothing, not even the mighty Lord Frieza, could stop me!

It was at that moment that Lady Luck decided to flee from me. For as I entered the room with a smirk across my face, it quickly changed to one of abject horror as I saw the trembling form of Frieza standing before not seven glittering gems but seven white boulders of common rock.

**Well there it is, the third chapter of Zarbon's Rebellion and he's finally actually decided to rebel! There's not really much to talk about here so I guess I'll go ahead and get to the questions that I saw from the last chapter.**

**Q: Since Zarbon, a clear cut sociopath, is the main character of the story, how will that affect the tone you're trying to convey? What is the point in having Zarbon lead the rebellion, or using a sociopath as the main character of the story? Do you intend to change him ala Honor Trip or Fall of Lord Frieza to achieve this point?**

**A: Well I can definitely say that Zarbon will definitely not be reforming like Cell or Frieza did in the stories that you mentioned. The point of having Zarbon as the leader of this rebellion is to show a universe were there really aren't any good guys. I found it an interesting concept and I hope you all do as well.**

**Q: If he retains his sociopathic tendencies, how will that affect his relations with the other major character or even the remnants of the PTO in general. Although it's possible that his rebellion could be a complete failure, I don't see you being a Greek tragedy kinda person.**

**A: Will this chapter foreshadows a little bit of how you can expect Zarbon to treat his cohorts. They're all pawns in his quest for power.**

**Q: Does the normal Zarbon remember what the monster Zarbon did while he was transformed?**

**A: Simply put, yes. It's more like one side of his personality is driving the car and the other is simply riding shotgun. The other still sees what's going on while the other is driving.**


	4. Chapter 4: Exodus

**Chapter 4: Exodus**

Destruction. Senseless, unfounded, and unmitigated destruction. It surrounded me on all sides like an all-encompassing weight that seemed to be squeezing the life from my being. The smoldering ruins of my kin's homes seemed to add an other-worldly haze that seemed to befuddle my mind. Wandering around aimlessly through the smoke and portrait of carnage I found myself trapped in, it seemed to me that there was no way this nightmare could be real.

It had come without warning: the invasion. Like a cyclone that forms and suddenly wipes out the harvest, the invasion was unpredictable and violent. In an instant, a large group of ki signatures that belonged to my brethren had been erased, leaving a gaping hole in my mind. Their presences were gone, never to return. It was a strange feeling, having something you had been able to feel and grasp onto suddenly yanked away from you. It's cliché, but you really don't appreciate something until it's gone, and now that the emptiness caused by my people's death is gnawing in the back of my consciousness I can't help but remember how…comfortable it was knowing that they were there. Now? All I could feel was a vast emptiness where my kin used to be and that is all that will ever be there now.

There was only one thought in my head as the lights of my brothers' spirits were snuffed out of existence. Why had these…_murderers_ come? What could they possibly hope to gain from this unwarranted slaughter? We were a simple, agricultural culture. We did not possess great wealth, or even the resources to obtain wealth. Nor did we have access to sophisticated technology or even really great minds to produce anything that could possibly be beneficial to these foreigners. It was clear that they didn't want to enslave us and simply use us for menial tasks of physical labor. They massacred anyone they seemed to stumble upon.

In the back of my mind though, I knew what they had come for. Our artifacts. The symbols of our past glory, before the Great Storm. Before that cataclysm, our people had been sought from all over the universe because of their unprecedented knowledge and wisdom. We were renowned throughout the galaxy and we even possessed some of the more advanced technology of the day. That all changed, though, after the Storm. An extinction event if there ever was one. Not even the plant life was able to escape its destructive power, and our once beautiful planet was reduced to nothing more than a barren wasteland with a population of one. But with the new Father of our people, we managed to claw back from the brink of extinction, and we are finally managing to bring back the planet to its former beauty. The Grand Elder had created the Dragon Balls in order to represent the goal we were striving for, to remind of us of the virtues that we must strive to exemplify. Wisdom. Patience. Righteousness. Understanding. Kindness. Respect. Mercy. These qualities were what defined the Namekians of old and it is what each of us strived for now. That's what the seven artifacts meant to us; it wasn't the fact that when gathered all together the almighty dragon, Porunga, would appear and grant the person that had awakened him 3 wishes. They were a representation of our previous civilization and a beacon of hope for what we hoped to become.

Of course, these narrow-minded intruders could not possibly comprehend what those 7 orange globes meant to us. They can only see them as mere tools for them to gain more power, something that will reward their own selfish desires. As is the case with all things driven by greed, a path of destruction followed after them as the invaders did anything within their power to grasp the orbs in their claws. They massacred their way to the prize they so desperately sought, and as a result my people were murdered by the dozens. Now…only two of us remained.

In a way, this sudden invasion was like the Great Storm. This calamity is even more devastating to us than even that horrific event, though. Unlike that freak incident of nature, this heinous crime was committed by other sentient beings. Even if our race did somehow survive this tragedy, how could we ever go back to believing in the ideals that defined our race? If anything, this event has proven to me that the universe is not the same way it once was. Kindness has been replaced with cruelty. Compassion has been deposed by hatred and heartlessness. Instead of things being about the greater good, it seemed these conquerors were only driven by what was best for them. Their morals had been so corrupted that they viewed the annihilation of an entire species as an acceptable method to obtain their goals.

Our people were founded on the basis that all people were good and that we should strive to be the most virtuous of them all. Were we simply naïve? Are people inherently evil? Is that why the Grand Elder set up our society to be isolated from the rest of space after we had begun to recover from the Great Storm? Our ideals seem to have been cast away by the rest of the universe. How tainted are the hearts of the other beings of the galaxy now? Are these ruthless scoundrels the exception or the consensus? It didn't really matter, though, because whether we were one of the last societies that valued themselves as being virtuous or simply one of thousands, there was now one less of those civilizations left in the universe.

That much was clear to me as my knees fell to the ground, my brain not even registering the sound of their connection with the ground or even the slight pain I felt from the fall. No, there was only a numbness that seemed to fill my entire being as I stared at the horrific sight before me.

Lying motionless before me were the mangled, mutilated bodies of two of the younglings of our race. Their tiny, fragile forms were completely torn to shreds by what seemed to have been ki blasts that ripped through their chests. Hot tears began to slowly drip down my cheeks as my hand lightly grazed across one of their bodies, and a painful realization dawned on me. They had been slain by ki blasts while they were attempting to flee. They had not even faced their murderer; he had been too cowardly to even give them that tiny shred of dignity.

A tremor shook the terrain as my fist slammed angrily against the ground. What kind of monster butchered mere children, even when they were running away? Not even the innocence of children was sacred to these…animals. Did their greed know no bounds? Were these the true actions that our artifacts brought out in people? The worst of them, that they were willing to slaughter even children just to gain the power of the Eternal Dragon.

It didn't really matter, though, in the end. It was much more of a crime that these sprouts had been cut down before they even had a chance to reach their prime. Regardless of how or why they were killed, they were gone. It seemed that not even younglings could avoid becoming casualties in this slaughter. The sight of these two slain children seemed to be a terrible omen to me. Telling me that our race was simply doomed this time, and unlike after the Great Storm, there would be no recovery this time. It was truly the extinction event for us.

Forcing myself to stand, I began the solemn process of burying my fallen kin. They at least deserved some respect in death, even if they had not received it when they had been slain. There were several small explosions as I carved out graves with beams of ki from my eyes. After finishing my work, there now were five holes in the middle of the village's square and I set about the mindless task of carefully placing each of the dead into his new resting place.

My body seemed to act on its own volition as my mind seemed to be filled with air while I carefully picked up the lifeless form of one of the younglings. Not even time seemed to pass as one by one the bodies of my brethren where laid to rest. After completing the task, I stood absentmindedly above the graves unsure of what to do next. Should some final words be said before they were given to the ground forever? I couldn't help but feel grossly inadequate for the task. This was more of the Grand Elder's area of expertise since he was the wisest of our race, but it seemed that now this duty had been left to me. There weren't really any other options now.

Unsure of what to say however, I decided that it was best to wait until after they had been fully buried to say the final rites. It would give me some time to decide what would be adequate enough to say. Many potential ideas swirled around in my head as I used my hands to scoop dirt to cover my kin's corpses. Again, it seemed as if my spirit had been transported to another reality. Nothing seemed real. The dirt in my hands. The obliterated village surrounding me. The corpses beneath me. It was all so surreal, but as the final plod of dirt was placed onto the last mound it was as if reality came crashing back down on me. This nightmare was no nightmare at all; it was simply reality.

"Rest in peace, brothers," I muttered aloud over the five graves. "I apologize. I wasn't here when you required my assistance. I…failed you all."

A lump formed in my throat as my eyes tried to bore holes into the freshly dug crypts. It took me awhile to regain the capability to speak, as a torrent of emotions seemed to overcome me in that moment. It was as if all the emotions I should have felt while actually seeing the dead Elders and younglings carelessly left to rot in the open suddenly hit me like a tidal wave. Sorrow, Despair, Disgust, and finally…Anger. That was the one that suddenly consumed the core of my being as my fists clenched and my teeth grinded together.

"I swear, though," I began as my own blood began to stream from my palms as I prepared to make my oath. "I vow to avenge you. Not just the five of you, but all of our murdered brethren that were massacred by these devils. No rest shall be given to me until this vow is fulfilled; this I swear to you all."

My voice echoed through the empty hamlet as if it was traveling to all the homes and informing them of my promise. In my mind, I could picture the reverberations of my voice being carried throughout the entire planet. Giving comfort to all of the dead souls that were so brutally killed. Letting them know that they would be avenged and that justice would be brought to the people responsible.

Turning away from the newly created graveyard, my heart began to pull on me to return to my post. While it had been the Grand Elder who had sent me here, I had not put up much resistance to remain at his side. Ever since the invasion had begun, a desire to confront the foreigners had burned deep inside of me. As the strongest member of the Warrior Clan, was it not my responsibility not only to protect the Grand Elder but also all of the other vulnerable members of our race? Unrest had overcome me as I stood watch over the leader of our people until finally he gave me leave to come to Elder Moori's village.

Now, though, it was time to return to my true duty. If we were the last two surviving Nameks, there was hope as long as Grand Elder Guru still lived. He had led our people through one great tragedy; there was no doubt in my mind that he could lead us through yet another if I could just prevent him from being butchered by these monsters. It was up to me to keep the hope of our race alive. I would not fail.

As I prepared to blast into the sky to head back to the Grand Elder's home, though, something suddenly caught my eye. A bright glow appeared in my peripheral vision. Turning to confront it, surprise grabbed hold of me when the white aura of energy that I had spotted began to nose-dive out of the sky directly towards my position. Expecting the worst, my body tightened as I braced myself for a potential battle with one of the invaders.

"Bring it on," I growled, as the aura grew larger as it moved closer towards me.

To my surprise, however, the warrior that the translucent blaze belonged to did not stop his flight in front of me. No, instead he went sailing overhead in an out-of-control spiral and crashed into one of the homes behind me. Whipping my head around to try and keep an eye on my opponent, I was met with an explosion of dirt and debris along with a loud bang as one of my people's building erupted upon collision with the invader.

Almost in a daze, my body quickly made its way to the crash site. A stunning site met me there after making my way through the smoke. Inside of a small crater lay a short man with spiky, black hair wearing the same armor as the rest of the invaders that had assaulted our planet. This one's armor was cracked and splintered, though. He was also clearly unconscious.

A dozen questions quickly entered through my mind as my gaze resided on the broken and battered warrior. Who was he? Where did he come from? Had he been one of the people to attack our villages? Had it been another Namekian that had put him into this state?

No. I knew the answer to that one. This man's ki signature had been much too high for any other member of the Warrior Clan to be able to defeat him, much less leave him in his current state.

That simply brought up even more questions that required answers. If a Namekian hadn't done this much damage to him, then who did? Was he with the other invaders or was he some sort of rebel or deserter? Did he sympathize with our plight or simply despise his superiors? Despite all of these questions though, there was one that seemed to override all other in my mind.

What do I do with him?

Do I leave him here? If that was my course of action, then he more than likely would die here. Simply one more death that this place would see. But would that be justified? He was wearing the attire of the invaders. It was quite possible that he could have been responsible for some of the deaths that occurred in this village and in the others. Did he deserve to die?

No. There was no evidence that would condemn him to death. There were not enough facts for me to be able to judge what his fate would be at that moment. I'm not wise enough to make such decisions. There was one, though, that was. The Grand Elder would know what should be done with this alien. He would know what the best course of action was.

Slinging the foreigner over my shoulder, my own aura sprung to life as I took to the sky. It was time to head back to my home and see what the Grand Elder wished me to do. Were we to attempt to strike back against the invaders? Flee so that we could live to fight another day? Or simply wait for the end to come and find us like it had the rest of our race? I had a feeling that the last choice had the greatest probability of occurring. I knew one thing, though: many of the invaders would fall at my hands before I succumbed to death's cold embrace.

* * *

Panic. It had thrown my mind into chaos as it slowly spread its poison through my entire being. All of my thoughts had been transformed into those of worry for the well-being of the Grand Elder as my body quickly moved through the door of his home. The body of the blacked-out foreigner was tossed carelessly to the floor without even a single thought as I quickly moved to the platform that would allow me access to the second level of the building.

What had thrown me into such a panic? It was thought that I had failed in my duty to protect the Grand Elder. That my desire to fight against the invaders had caused me to forsake my assigned task for the possibility of gaining some vengeance against the murderers of my kin had allowed our race's only hope to be killed as well.

The flight back from Moori's village had been quiet. My mind was still preoccupied with the humanoid that was my passenger and what his story possibly was. Those thoughts had managed to keep me entertained the entire trip back to the spire. So much so that I hadn't even been able to sense it until I came into view of the Grand Elder's home.

My heart had stopped in that instance. Right at the moment when my eyes had seen another blazing aura off in the distance…flying in the other direction.

Panic had immediately seized hold of me and my velocity accelerated rapidly as I rushed to check on the Grand Elder. Immediately my senses had reached out to the see if the Grand Elder's life force was still present and it was. It was extremely faint, though, and I was unsure of whether he was slowly dying from an intruder's attack or if he was simply weak from the encounter. I didn't know, which only drove me to arrive faster.

Then my intention had been turned towards the aura that was quickly fading over the horizon. It was dark and powerful. A quick estimate showed that he was in similar terms of power as the man on my back. This was someone the Grand Elder would not have been able to even attempt to resist if forced into battle. Even if he hadn't been sickly, there was no way he would have been able to stave off this invader for long.

Guilt had then begun to also pervade through my soul. It was my fault that Guru had been thrown into this situation. If I had been there, this trespasser would have been dealt with quickly. His power was nothing when compared to mine. I would have crushed him. However, my desire to run off and abandon my primary responsibility had allowed this heathen to waltz in do who knows what to the Grand Elder. And it was all because of my irresponsibility and impatience.

Now I was here, scrambling through the Grand Elder's home in a panicked frenzy as my body rushed to the platform. To my surprise, there was a giant hole in the ceiling above me. Clearly, it had been created by a ki blast. Impatient, ignorant fool! That barbarian! Instead of simply using the platform that would easily take him to where the Grand Elder resided, he couldn't wait that long. No, he had to make a grand, violent entrance and obliterated the floor! These invaders disgusted me.

Since the platform had been destroyed by the brute's blast, I was forced to fly through the hole to reach the Grand Elder. Setting down at the edge of the cavity, my spirit was put to rest—somewhat—as my eyes set sight on my charge. He seemed to be unharmed, slightly tired, but nothing that seemed to be life threatening.

"Nail," said the Grand Elder in his low, soothing voice. Just the sound of him speaking my name seemed to put me at ease. As if all of the horrors that I had just seen and anxiety that had overcome me meant nothing anymore. "I see that you have returned from your expedition. Did you manage to find any survivors?"

"No, Grand Elder," I admitted as my knee hit the floor and my head bowed before my leader. "There were no survivors from the attack on Elder Moori's village."

"As I feared," Guru said as he shifted his giant form slightly. It appeared he was somewhat agitated by something. "I have my suspicions that none of my children except for you remained, Nail."

"I had the same fear, Grand Elder. I just don't want to believe it," I confessed. Suddenly, my brain began to work again and my concerns arose once again. That's right! Wasn't there just an invader here? Why was the Grand Elder pretending like nothing had occurred here!?

"Grand Elder, are you harmed?" I asked. "I noticed the invader leaving here as I made my way back. Do you wish me to pursue him?"

"No, I am not hurt. Thank you for your concern, Nail. Also, there is no reason for you pursue Zarbon. It is not necessary. Besides, he is probably too far gone now for you to be able to catch him in time."

A puzzled expression formed on my face as I lifted my head to look at the Grand Elder. It was then that I noticed the glaring absence of one certain shiny orb that usually resided above Guru's head.

"Where is the One-Star Dragon Ball!?" I exclaimed as my body leapt to its feet. "Did the intruder steal it? If so, why do you wish for me not to try and regain possession of it? If they have the ball that resided here, than they more than likely have possession of all seven!"

"Calm yourself, Nail," instructed the Grand Elder, motioning with his hand to tell me to settle down. However, I ignored him and continued on my tirade.

"This is my fault entirely. I should have never left you here by yourself. Of course someone would be able to find this place eventually, and I left you here unprotected! I've failed you, Guru! I… I'm sorry."

"You haven't failed me, my child," said the Grand Elder before sighing somewhat. "If you recall, it was I that sent you away."

"I should have refused, though!" I shouted before both of my knees slammed to the floor and I bowed at the older Namek's feet. "It's my responsibility to protect you, and because of my selfish desire, I allowed you to be here vulnerable while an enemy came and stole the Dragon Ball from us."

"My child, you did exactly as I desired you to. There is no reason for you to apologize. For you see, I knew that the invader was moving in this direction and that it was only a matter of time until he discovered me here."

My head turned up and my expression once again transformed into one of puzzlement as my eyes bore into the stoic face of the Grand Elder. He seemed completely at ease, like everything was all right with one of the people responsible for the destruction of our family walking into his home. From what he said and how he looked now, if anything, he simply seemed disappointed. Not in me, though, but in the intruder.

"What are you saying, Guru?"

The Father of my race sighed before answering my question. "I knew that Zarbon—yes, that was the intruder's name—was coming here. I welcomed his coming and I sent you away so that you would not stop him. I knew that you would not understand my plan and you would never accept it."

"What are you talking about, Grand Elder?" I desperately pleaded. Confusion was all that I felt as my charge admitted that he didn't wish for me to protect him.

"I was hoping that he would kill me during his attempt to steal the Dragon Ball," Guru stated flatly.

I was stunned into silence from the eldest Namek's proclamation. Crawling backwards in stunned disbelief I was shocked to see that the Grand Elder was completely serious. He had wanted this invader to murder him. But why? Had he given up all hope? Did even he belief there was no hope for our race? That this was truly the end for us?!

"Why?" I croaked. "Don't you realize that you're the last hope for us, Grand Elder?! You survived the Great Storm! You managed to lead our people through that calamity! Why do you to dash our people's hopes for a new beginning now? Have you really given up!?"

"I'm sorry, Nail, but I'm afraid I am not capable of leading our people through this tragedy," admitted Guru. "As you know, I am not well. I would only guess that I have a few more days to live. It is inevitable. I would not have been able to weather this storm. You know this to be true."

"Yes, but why die now!" I exclaimed as I jumped to my feet as anger began to fill my being. "We still need you, Grand Elder! You can't abandon us yet!"

"Nail, it is because of me that these invaders are here. They arrived here for the Dragon Balls that I created. My hope was that the intruder would kill me as he attempted to take the Dragon Ball. Since I am the creator of the Dragon Balls, they would become inert upon my death, and I would be able to deny the sadistic leader of these aliens from gaining his wish for immortality. It was the very least that I could do. My people would not die in vain simply for a mad man to gain the power to torment the universe for eternity. I would not allow that."

Silence hung over the two of us as the Grand Elder finished his explanation and I found myself incapable of speech. It made sense to me now, even though I disagreed with the Elder's plan. He simply wanted the same thing as me: to resist against the invaders… it was just in his own idealistic way.

"I see that this Zarbon didn't kill you, though," I said. "I understand why you would wish to deny this monster his wish, but why not simply wait until you died of natural causes? You said yourself that your time was drawing near."

"Indeed, but by then it would too late. Even with your impressive fighting ability, Nail, you would not have stood a chance against this Frieza character. His power is truly impressive from what I have sensed and seen in Zarbon's memories. He would have eventually found us and ripped the Dragon Ball from us and been able to gain his wish before I died naturally. I did not wish for that to happen."

"As you noted, though, the intruder did not slay me during his theft of the Dragon Ball. I underestimated his cruelty there. He wished for me to die with the knowledge that I had failed to protect my people and to suffer until I died naturally. However, I did manage to gain much of Zarbon's knowledge for when we touched I gained access to all of his memories. Using his own thoughts against him, I managed to persuade him so that he would rebel and use the Dragon Balls for his own selfish reasons."

"Why would you do that, Grand Elder? Why would it be better for this villain—and not this Frieza—to gain the power of Porunga? It seems to me that the universe would suffer from both of these men having that kind of power in their grasp."

"Indeed, Nail. Neither Zarbon nor Frieza deserve or should have immortality. However, if both of them are vying for the wishes, than it will take both of them longer to be able to gain possession of all seven and use the wishes since they will thwart each other's attempts to summon Porunga. It should be enough to stall for us to make our next move."

My ears perked up at the Grand Elder's words and I moved closer in anticipation. I was anxious to hear what the wise Elder Namek's plan was. "What is our strategy, Grand Elder? What are we stalling for?"

He did not speak for several moments, and I could feel myself unconsciously leaning forward as I waited for the Grand Elder to reveal to me his master plan. Finally, with a heave of his massive form, Guru spoke.

"I wish to merge with you Nail."

The eldest Namek paused for a moment as he looked down at me. I was completely frozen. My mouth wouldn't move and my muscles weren't responding. The suggestion was just so…startling. All of my life, I had heard of the forbidden technique of our people. The one that was to never be used under any circumstances. Along with the lesson had been the story of the Super Nameks who had used the merging ritual to gain power; however, they had been corrupted by a thirst for power that was unnatural for the Nameks. They had been banished from the planet and ever since then the ritual had been taboo. For Guru to suggest such a thing when he himself was the one that had witnessed what had happened because of the use of the technique was just…unheard of. It was beyond comprehension.

"Guru…" I muttered as I tried to shake off my shock. "That technique, though. It is forbidden."

"Yes, I realize that," he calmly stated. "However, it is the only option left to us in order to thwart Frieza's plan and ensure that he does not receive his wish. If I merge with you, then the Dragon Balls will become inert and no one will ever be able to use their power for evil again."

"But…your consciousness will cease to exist," I stated as my eyes attempted to hold back tears and my voice cracked. "If I agree, then you'll be gone forever."

"No, not entirely. I will continue to live on through you, my child," said Guru with a warm smile. "Now come closer; I sense that not much time will remain for us after we complete the ritual."

Hesitantly, I inched towards the form of the eldest Namek. My mind was still screaming at me to not allow the Grand Elder to sacrifice himself in this manner, but it seemed my body had decided to obey my father's command. Slowly, I raised my hand and placed it upon his chest as a stream of tears began to flow from my eyes.

"Do not be sad, my child," he stated, still smiling at me. Encouraging me to go through with the unthinkable. "This is for the best. There is one thing that I would ask of you before we begin. Please, allow the Saiyan that you brought here with you the chance to redeem himself."

"What do you mean?" I asked, not quite comprehending exactly what the Grand Elder was talking about.

"You will understand in a moment," was all that he would say for an answer. "Now, let us begin."

As Guru finished speaking, a bright white light suddenly seemed to explode from my palm and consume the entire room in its rays. My eyes perceived nothing other than the light and I was forced to close my eyes as it threatened to blind me. As I closed my eyes, though, I felt something brush against my consciousness. Upon further examination, I discovered that this unknown presence had the same exact feel as the Grand Elder's energy signature.

A feeling of warmth and comfort overtook me. As if Guru were encouraging me to take the next step and embrace his presence into my own mind. With some hesitation still, I opened the barriers to my mind and was suddenly overwhelmed by a flood of an immeasurable amount of memories and knowledge that Guru possessed in his mind.

It was incredible the sheer amount of information that was suddenly at my disposal. All of the knowledge that the Grand Elder had collected during his time on Namek was suddenly racing before my inner eye and being absorbed into my consciousness. All of these new techniques and abilities that I had never even considered before suddenly seemed painfully obvious to me as they were revealed to me by Guru's vast bank of information.

Then poured in all of the memories of the Grand Elder. They flashed before my eyes in mere nano-seconds and yet somehow I was able to memorize and know everything that had occurred in them. I saw the time before the Great Storm, how Namek had looked back then. It was so beautiful; no words could be used to describe the scenic images shown to me by the Grand Elder. If I were ever to use the wishes from Porunga, it was clear to me what it would be. All three would be to live in that world which Guru's memories showed to me.

Then I bore witness to his struggling for survival during the time of the Great Storm. Stories had told of how absolutely devastating it had been, but none of them did it justice in the end. It was terrible beyond description and my heart yearned for the Grand Elder in ways in which it had never before. It had been incredibly lonely for him, being the only survivor of this terrible calamity. Even I was not sure if my willpower would have been enough to endure through such an ordeal.

After the Great Storm had passed, the images of Guru's slow rebuilding of our civilization were shown to me. Even I, his loyal bodyguard, had not been able to fully comprehend what it had taken for him to mold our people and planet into what it had been today. It was unbelievable how much strength he had shown as he struggled all alone to give birth to all the Nameks that I had ever known and attempted to restore our planet to its former glory. If I was able to harness a fraction of his strength, than there was no doubt in my mind that our people would be avenged.

'_I implore you not to allow yourself to be consumed by such thoughts.'_

Startled, I opened my eyes to find myself standing in what seemed to be a pure white room. Looking around, all I could see was white in every direction. Was this some sort of different dimension of existence? It was definitely no place that I had ever been to before.

'_No, this is simply your inner mind, Nail. It is also where my conscious is now residing.'_

Turning my head, I was shocked to see the form of Guru standing before. Not in his old and weary form, but in the form that I had seen in the memories that were presented before me. He was tall; in fact, he was the tallest Namekian I had ever seen before, and his entire body seemed to be made of muscle. He was the epitome of strength.

"What do you mean, Guru? What thoughts?" I questioned, but even as the words left my mouth it seemed as if his image was fading and my eyes suddenly snapped open.

Blinking several times, my eyes revealed the ceiling of the Grand Elder's home to me. Shaking my head and sitting up, I discovered that my body was lying on the floor before Guru's old chair. However, the familiar sight seemed to be very discomforting now without the presence of the Grand Elder himself there. His physical form seemed to have disappeared as his mind entered into my own.

Suddenly, a dark energy suddenly seemed to spike dramatically. I leapt to my feet upon the feeling, and using the memories that had just been passed to me, it was easy to deduce that this ki signature belonging to the Arcosian, Frieza. It was indeed terrible and powerful, even more so than I could feel in the memories that I had seen from both Guru and Zarbon.

There was no hope of victory against this kind of foe, at least for the moment. Again accessing memories from the Grand Elder's life, my body drifted into the empty throne and my fingers danced across the armrest causing a panel to suddenly appear.

It had been revealed to me that during the Great Storm, the Elder Nameks then had created spaceships in order to attempt to allow the younglings to escape the terrible event that would more than likely cause them their lives. Only one of these ships had been able to take off before the Storm had hit, though, stranding all of the other spacecraft on the planet. Only the Son of Katas had managed to escape the terrible tragedy and now again only one Namek was going to escape from a devastating event to our people.

However, that did not mean that none of the other spaceships had survived the Storm. No, in fact the Grand Elder's had survived and he had even used it to model the homes that all of the Namekians had lived in to this day. He, however, had continued to live in the spaceship that still remained on the launch site where he was scheduled to flee into space. It had been a reminder to Guru about the past and also a last resort in case a craft capable of space-travel was ever needed again. It was already on the launch pad and was primed for takeoff. All that was needed was for the ship to be turned on and for the password for lift off to be stated aloud…

"Piccolo!" I shouted and upon the pronunciation of the name the engines of the craft sprung to life. The pull of gravity on my body was enormous as the ship tore through the atmosphere of the planet as my exodus from my home began. I wasn't sure of where I was going but that didn't matter at the moment. Only one thing was now in my mind. The desire to see my home world for the last time.

Stepping down from the pilot's chair, I floated up to peer out of the window that was directly in front of me. Looking out of the porthole, a snarl escaped from my lips as I looked down. Already it was beginning. Frieza's wrath was being demonstrated at full force as large explosions began to dot the green surface of Namek staining it with red. He must have realized that his plan for immortality had been thwarted.

Anger rose up in me, and I gnashed my teeth together as I witnessed the slow destruction of my home. Frieza would pay for this. I would honor my oath to my fallen kin. No rest would be given to me until justice had been survived. It was my purpose…as the Last Namekian.

"Why?"

My ears pricked up at the sound of another voice and I turned my head to see the Saiyan weakly stagger below me before he collapsed to the floor. It had seemed he had finally woken up and managed to make his way upstairs.

Slowly descending, I landed only a few feet from the struggling Saiyan. Forcing his head up, the flame-haired man managed to stare into my own eyes with his onyx orbs and angrily mutter:

"Why did you save me? Why didn't you let me die?"

A blank expression came over me as I bent down so that my face was eye level with the man. Looking into his eyes, those unfeeling eyes, I understood what the Grand Elder had told me right before the ritual. It would be difficult, but I would do my best to fulfill my father's final request. A snarl formed on the Saiyan's face as I calmly said…

"Because you're going to be my guide on the path that leads to Frieza's destruction, Saiyan."

**Thanks for reading the newest chapter of Zarbon's Rebellion! As you may have noticed, this was the first chapter that was not written from Zarbon's perspective. There will be several chapters that are in this manner that will help expand on things that Zarbon was not present for. For example, this chapter explained why the Dragon Balls went inert and showed that both Nail and Vegeta are still alive. Alright now question time!**

**Q: (Various comments about Guru feeling OOC)**

**A: Yes, I was a little concerned about that aspect. However, if you notice when Frieza shows up at his home in the show he is much more curt and brash with him then he is with the Earthlings and other Nameks. Hopefully this chapter provided a lot of insight into Guru's character. However, if you still have some questions about Guru than feel free to ask them. I'll be happy to answer them!**

**Q: It seems Zarbon looked over needing speak Namekian, though he has little reason to believe he would need to speak it.**

**A: Not really a question, but it is something I want to talk about. Yes, he didn't actually know that he would need to speak Namekian to actually get his wishes. The Namekian he murdered didn't fully trust him, and he knew that even if he did give Zarbon the password if he didn't keep him alive he wouldn't get any wishes anyways. Zarbon's not nearly as smart as he believes at times.**

**Q: It's becoming clear that your setting up a story where the protagonist is at least morally ambiguous. My question though is how you intend to keep people interested in Zarbon if they aren't supposed to be rooting for him. Do you want people personally to root for Zarbon winning his little rebellion (cough tantrum). And if not, what kind of reaction do you think is appropriate?**

**A: Yes, Zarbon is defiantly not going to be your typical "hero" in a story. My goal is to simply have people so intrigued in exactly HOW Zarbon is going to pull this off that it will keep them reading. Also, I believe that Zarbon has a very unique personality that I'm hoping readers will gravitate towards and make sort of a "likeable" character I guess you could say. A lot of people love bad boys, so I'm hoping people will sort of like to read about villains going up against villains. Zarbon can also be seen as the lesser of two evils when compared to Frieza so that's another thing that he has going for him.**

**Q: As a fan of using otherwise underutilized or (speaking a bit tongue in cheek) irrelevant characters, do you plan on Zarbon having other pivotal allies with the exception of Vegeta that have gotten very little screen time in DBZ? If so, will they be running on their own selfish agenda's or are they more ideologues that are more devoted to seeing the Arcosians fall under any terms. Or maybe none of these things.**

**A: Well, I believe this chapter helped answer one of your questions here with Nail clearly being set up for a bigger role in this universe. And he defiantly has a different agenda and ideology than Zarbon does. You know me though Phoenix, I can't help but use underutilized characters! Expect to see more in the future and there will be all sorts of motives involved in the story!**

**Q: While it is nice seeing Guru doing something, where's Nail? I kind of thought it would fit more if he was the one to stop him than the old man. The Grand Elder feeling pity? I guess someone has to do that since I know I won't for Zarbon since he was killing everyone. Zarbon is smarting up again and realizing that rebellion is pointless, but I have a feeling Guru is going to convince him otherwise. Though why is he doing this? Doesn't Guru realize that Zarbon is just going to kill his people if he does in fact get the wish? So why is he trying to convince Zarbon to get the wish himself? Or is there something that only Guru knows about that he noticed inside of the blue guy?**

**A: I believe all of these questions where pretty much answered by this chapter, Kaiser. If you're still wondering about some of them, then feel free to ask!**

**Q: I was a little confused about why the Dragon Balls are stone now? I thought that Zarbon didn't kill guru?**

**A: Well here's your answer! Chapter 4!**

**Again, thanks for reading guys. You guys are the best readers I could ever ask for. Also, unfortunately my usual Beta-Reader for the story, pointer39, has been sick lately so he was unable to edit this chapter. Fortunately, another one of my friends agreed to so shout out to LucifVegeta for doing a great job feeling in. Thanks for the help! **

**Q: (Various Comments wondering what will happen next along with statements having no idea what's going to happen next or how Zarbon can pull off a Rebellion.)**

**A: Glad to know I'm doing my job well! Guess you'll just have to see next chapter! I promise to get it out quickly!**


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